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<\/p>\nBORIS Johnson is set to recall Parliament this week to tackle the crisis in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
MPs will be asked to come back from their summer holidays two weeks early.<\/p>\n
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It comes as Taliban fighters have begun storming the capital Kabul from all sides.<\/p>\n
It will be the first time since 2014 that Parliament has been recalled to discuss a crisis in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
The lightning speed of the Taliban has shocked the world and just a few days ago United States officials predicted it would take 30 days for them to reach Kabul – and 90 to take the city.<\/p>\n
Twenty years after they were ejected by the US and its allies in the wake of 9\/11 they stand on the brink of being back in power.<\/p>\n
Helicopters were seen near the US embassy as staff were evacuated to outside the city and they included Black Hawks, which typically carry armed troops.<\/p>\n
Three Afghan officials said that the Taliban were in the districts of Kalakan, Qarabagh and Paghman in the capital.<\/p>\n
An Afghan official said troops have surrendered Bagram air base – which is home to a prison housing 5,000 inmates – to the Taliban.<\/p>\n
The Taliban said in a statement they do not plan to take Kabul \u201cby force\u201d as sporadic gunfire echoed in the Afghan capital.<\/p>\n
The country's President Ashraf Ghani is reported to be preparing to relinquish power ahead of the formation of an interim government.<\/p>\n
An Afghan official told the Associated Press that Taliban negotiators are heading to the presidential palace to prepare for a \u201ctransfer\u201d of power.<\/p>\n
The leadership of the hardline group said its fighters have been told stand at entry points in Kabul.<\/p>\n
"No one's life, property and dignity will be harmed and the lives of the citizens of Kabul will not be at risk," the Taliban said.<\/p>\n
They also appeared to offer an amnesty for government forces and said they want a "peaceful transfer of power".<\/p>\n
But questions remain about whether the Taliban leadership is able to control troops on the ground and prevent them taking revenge.<\/p>\n
Tory MP Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, described the collapse of the Afghan government as "the biggest single foreign policy disaster" since Suez.<\/p>\n
He said the priority should be to get as many people out of Kabul as possible while there was still time.<\/p>\n
He told BBC News that Afghans who helped the British now faced reprisals if they fell into the hands of the Taliban.<\/p>\n
"This isn't just about interpreters or guards," he said.<\/p>\n
"This is about those people who we trained in special forces to serve alongside us, those who helped us to understand the territory through our agencies and our diplomats.<\/p>\n
"This is the people who, on our encouragement, set up schools for girls. These people are all at risk now.<\/p>\n
"The real danger is that we are going to see every female MP murdered, we are going to see ministers strung up on street lamps."<\/p>\n
Fellow Tory MP and former army officer Johnny Mercer – who fought in Afghanistan – described the situation as "humiliating to watch".<\/p>\n
"I never thought I would see the day either as a soldier or a member of the Tory party that we would surrender to the Taliban," he told Sky News.<\/p>\n
Mr Mercer also questioned why the UK has followed the US lead in leaving the country.<\/p>\n
"We don't pour 40 billion pounds a year into a defence budget in order to not leave the gates or be able to do anything without the Americans," he said.<\/p>\n