The first flight carrying British nationals as part of an operation to evacuate people from Afghanistan has arrived in the UK.
Embassy staff were among people who arrived at RAF Brize Norton last night.
Live updates on Afghanistan as Taliban enters Kabul
Images posted to Twitter showed people departing the flight as the UK steps up efforts to evacuate up to 1,500 people from Afghanistan every day.
The MoD said: "The UK Armed Forces are supporting the evacuation of British Nationals and those eligible for relocation under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Program."
Details about the flight's arrival emerged as Defence Secretary Ben Wallace admitted "some people won't get back" from Afghanistan.
British troops continue to race against the clock to evacuate remaining UK nationals and their local allies out of the country following the dramatic fall of the country's Western-backed government.
Mr Wallace, who previously served in the Scots Guards, appeared to choke up while appearing on the LBC radio station on Monday as he spoke about the operation.
He said: "It's a really deep part of regret for me ... look, some people won't get back. Some people won't get back and we will have to do our best in third countries to process those people."
Asked why he felt the situation "so personally", Mr Wallace replied: "Because I'm a soldier... because it's sad and the West has done what it's done, we have to do our very best to get people out and stand by our obligations and 20 years of sacrifice is what it is."
Mr Wallace confirmed to Sky News that 370 UK embassy staff and British citizens were flown out of the country yesterday and on Saturday ahead of the arrival of the flight at Brize Norton.
Lead elements of 16 Air Assault Brigade were working with US forces to secure Kabul airport to ensure flights can continue as Afghans and foreigners scramble to leave.
Mr Wallace said the barrier to helping more people leave the country depended on how quickly they could be processed.
In chaotic scenes in the Afghan capital, US forces fired in the air at Kabul's airport to prevent hundreds of civilians running onto the tarmac in a bid to board military flights as people continue to try to find ways out of the country.
A US official said "the crowd was out of control" and "the firing was only done to defuse the chaos".
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMidGh0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy5za3kuY29tL3N0b3J5L2ZpcnN0LWZsaWdodC1jYXJyeWluZy1icml0aXNoLW5hdGlvbmFscy1ldmFjdWF0ZWQtZnJvbS1hZmdoYW5pc3Rhbi1hcnJpdmVzLWluLXVrLTEyMzgyODU40gF4aHR0cHM6Ly9uZXdzLnNreS5jb20vc3RvcnkvYW1wL2ZpcnN0LWZsaWdodC1jYXJyeWluZy1icml0aXNoLW5hdGlvbmFscy1ldmFjdWF0ZWQtZnJvbS1hZmdoYW5pc3Rhbi1hcnJpdmVzLWluLXVrLTEyMzgyODU4?oc=5
2021-08-16 07:53:55Z
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