UK nationals in more peril following evacuation of diplomats, says Tory MP
Alicia Kearns suggested UK nationals stuck in Sudan were in more peril following the departure of foreign diplomats.
When it was put to her that their exit could remove any restraint exercised by the warring parties, the Tory chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: "So I can’t say I don’t disagree with that.
"The reality is though, every country as I understand it did remove their diplomats because they assess the situation to be so severe, the risk to those individuals’ lives, and the country does have an obligation to our diplomats.
"But we have to get our people out."
UK has a 'moral obligation' to make a decision on Sudan evacuation as soon as possible
The UK Government must make a decision on whether it will evacuate British nationals from Sudan as quickly as possible, a senior Tory MP has said.
Alicia Kearns said British nationals in the country need to know if they will be evacuated so that they can make their own plans if no help is being sent.
She told the BBC: "The reality is we have to get British nationals out. If, however, there was to be no evacuation because it is too dangerous - the Americans have said they will not evacuate their people, the French have had their people shot at - then we have a moral obligation to tell British nationals as soon as possible that that is the judgement that has been made because they then need to be able to make their own decisions."
British nationals in Sudan 'terrified' as food and water become scarce
British nationals in Sudan are "terrified" as water and food are now running out, the Tory chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee said this morning.
Alicia Kearns told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "We have to think about the context in which they find themselves which will be abject fear. There is very little water left, very little food.
"I am even hearing stories of people killing their pets because they are worried they are going to starve. People are terrified and across the world there is a very limited number of evacuations going on because of the complexities on the ground."
Senior Tory MP: Could be more than 4,000 British civilians want to be evacuated from Sudan
There could be more than 4,000 British nationals hoping to be evacuated from Sudan, according to a senior Tory MP.
Alicia Kearns, the chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning: "I suspect that we are well over a thousand who wish to be evacuated.
"But these sometimes these are large families. I suspect we could be looking at 3,000, 4,000 plus."
The UK Government is facing increasing scrutiny over its response to fighting in Sudan, with the Foreign Office having been accused of abandoning British civilians (you can read the full overnight story here).