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Speaking to LBC on Saturday, the MP for Tonbridge and Malling and former British Army officer questioned the resources required to get Pen Farthing, a former Royal Marines commando and founder of Kabul animal rescue centre Nowzad and hundreds of his animals on a plane while humans are left in Afghanistan. In a sobering reflection following Mr Farthing’s evacuation, Mr Tugendhat told how one interpreter asked “why is my five-year-old worth less than your dog?” before questioning host Matt Frei on how he would feel if an ambulance was sent to rescue a dog and not his mother.
Mr Frei asked the MP if Mr Farthing’s flight was “the right thing or the wrong thing to do”.
Mr Tugendhat replied: “People have been focusing on the aeroplanes. It is not the aeroplanes that are the problem.
“There is quite a lot of space on the aeroplanes, they are coming and going relatively easily.
“The difficulty is getting people into and out of the airport and we have just used a lot of troops to bring in 200 dogs.
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Mr Farthing’s “Operation Ark” campaign to get his animals out of the country became hugely successful on social media but Defence Secretary Ben Wallace complained it was distracting those focusing on evacuating the most vulnerable.
Events took a turn for the worst after Mr Farthing was turned away from the airport after queuing for over a day to get a flight out of the country leaving him and his staff fearing for their lives.
However, on Friday the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced Mr Farthing and his animals were on the brink of escape.
In a tweet, the MoD said: “Pen Farthing and his pets were assisted through the system at Kabul airport by the UK Armed Forces. They are currently being supported while he awaits transportation.
“On the direction of the Defence Secretary, clearance for their charter flight has been sponsored by the UK Government.”
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