'Danger tourist' among three Britons held by Taliban - as government 'in negotiations' to ensure their safety
The three men include "danger tourist" Miles Routledge, who had to be rescued from Afghanistan in 2021 when Western forces pulled out of the country suddenly as the Taliban took over.
Political reporter @alixculbertson
Sunday 2 April 2023 10:07, UK
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The UK government is "in negotiations" over three Britons held by the Taliban in Afghanistan, the home secretary has said.
The three British men include "danger tourist" Miles Routledge, 23, charity medic Kevin Cornwell, 53, and an unnamed UK national who manages a hotel in Kabul.
They are all believed to have been held by Taliban secret police since January in separate incidents, it emerged on Saturday .
Latest: Britons held by Taliban 'in contact' with families
Asked about the Home Secretary Suella Braverman told Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday: "If there are risks to people's safety, if they're a British citizen abroad, then the UK government is going to do whatever it takes to ensure that they're safe.
"The government is in negotiations and working hard to ensure people's safety is upheld."
Asked directly if the government was in negotiations over the three men, Ms Braverman replied: "If there are problems and if there are safety concerns to British individuals abroad, then the FCO will be working actively to ensure people are safe."
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She added that anybody travelling to dangerous parts of the world "should take the utmost caution" and should always act on the advice of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
The FCDO advises UK citizens against all travel to Afghanistan based on the security risks involved, including the possibility of detention by the Taliban authorities.
It says there are no British consular officials in the country and the ability to provide consular assistance "is severely limited and cannot be delivered in person".
Taliban not a proscribed terrorist group
Earlier, an FCDO spokesman said: "We are working hard to secure consular contact with British nationals detained in Afghanistan and we are supporting families."
The UK maintains a rule of not negotiating with terrorists, but the Taliban in Afghanistan is not a proscribed terrorist group and Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada is not subject to sanctions.
Mr Routledge has gained fame - and attracted controversy - by travelling to dangerous countries and posting about it online.
In August 2021, he was on a "holiday" in Afghanistan when he was caught up in the chaos in the capital as the Taliban took control of the country.
He chose the war-torn country having looked up a list of the most dangerous places to visit in the world, despite the Taliban taking control of more and more of the country at the time.
Mr Routledge thanked the British Army after he was among those to leave during the Kabul airlift when the UK and allied forces left the country suddenly as the Taliban took over.
He appears to have returned to the country since then.
Scott Richards from the Presidium Network non-profit organisation, which is assisting Mr Cornwell and the unnamed Briton, told Sky News he believes the pair are in good health and are being well treated.
But he added: "There has been no meaningful contact [with the men], there has been no access by international monitoring agencies... and there's been no other form of access to the individuals to date."
He said he was "very hopeful" they would have contact with the men.
Mr Cornwell was arrested at his hotel by officers from the Taliban's general directorate of intelligence on 11 January.
He is accused of having an illegal firearm in the safe in his room, but his family say he had been granted a licence for the firearm.
Mr Richards said this was a "misunderstanding" and the licence may have become separated from the firearm during the search.
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Meet the 22-year-old British student stuck in Afghanistan: ‘I’ve bitten off more than I can chew’
Miles Routledge has been branded a 'disaster tourist' online for flying into Kabul last Friday, just days before the Taliban captured the city.
A 22-year-old student from the UK claims he is stuck in Kabul after flying to Afghanistan on holiday last Friday.
Miles Routledge, a physics student at Loughborough University, reportedly flew into Afghanistan on Friday 13 August from Turkey with a flight scheduled out of Kabul on 19 August.
He originally booked the trip in May 2021, despite advice from the UK Foreign Office cautioning against travel to the country. This month Routledge discovered he could not refund his trip, so decided to get on the flight as planned, believing that he would be able to leave before the Taliban took Kabul.
However, the ongoing Taliban offensive has moved quicker than predicted, with Kabul falling to the insurgent group yesterday, 15 August.
Routledge found himself unable to fly out of the city yesterday, posting on Facebook that he was in a “bit of a pickle”.
In a post on social media, Routledge said, “I’ve bitten off more than I can chew and something has not gone to plan, resulting in this situation. There was no convincing me otherwise and I knew the risks, it was a gamble I took that went wrong despite my confidence and jokes.”
A few days ago US officials forecast that it would take around 30 days before the Taliban entered Kabul, and at least 90 days to capture the city. But Kabul fell to the military group yesterday, with flights out of the city suspended for civilians until further notice.
Why did Miles Routledge go to Afghanistan?
According to multiple posts on 4chan and a video he streamed on Twitch, Routledge - also known as Lord Miles online - explained why he decided to make the trip.
“I kind of thought, what’s the most fun country I could go to that isn’t boring, as in, there’s some excitement in there and it’s different,” he said. “I don’t want to go to London or even Spain.
“I googled the ten most dangerous countries in the world, and then I used that as a shopping list. At the top was Afghanistan.
“I messaged some people, watched some YouTube videos and thought ‘this stuff’s alright!’ I thought as the UK and US are still there, it’s got to be pretty safe.
“I thought ‘goofing off in Afghanistan...sounds good!’”
Later on in the livestream, Routledge said he had “no regrets” about his trip so far and would “do it all over again.”
In an interview with the Times, he said that he wanted to take risks with his travels.
“I like risk, I’m a banker so it makes sense,” the Physics student and summer finance intern told the paper .
“I hate lying around on a beach so I wanted to do something a little bit different. After graduating I’ll have a full-time job and maybe a family so won’t have the opportunity to do things like this again.”
However, recent posts on social media have shown that the student is now feeling less positive.
“I’m struggling to stand and keep down water, I don’t think I’ll sleep tonight,” Routledge wrote on Facebook, “I’ve seen too many dead people.
“I just wanted this whole thing to be a little charity thing where I can explore a weird country but I’ve mentally broken down.”
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Where is Miles Routledge now?
Yesterday, Routledge was in a UN safe house in Kabul along with 50 other foreign citizens. He said the compound is staffed by Turkish and British soldiers.
On Tuesday he posted an update , saying he had been evacuated to Dubai .
A practising Catholic, the 22-year-old says he was praying “roughly every 20 minutes” and continues to wear a crucifix.
Apparently, Routledge has contacted the British embassy and government officials to ask for help, but had not managed to get through to anyone over the weekend. The UK Foreign Office has not yet responded to our enquiries on this.
His university is also providing support. In a statement to Euronews Travel, a spokesperson from Loughborough University said, “we are aware of reports that one of our students is currently in Afghanistan.
“We are in touch with the student and have offered them our support and continue to monitor the situation closely.”
The university says they are unable to verify his location, but were helping Routledge “on the understanding that he is in Kabul.”
This isn’t the first time Routledge has travelled to somewhere dangerous. He previously visited Chernobyl in 2019, bragging online that he bribed a security guard to let him keep a gas mask he had stolen. He claims that he subsequently sold the item online for more than the cost of his trip.
Though the 22-year-old’s trip has caught the attention of many on the internet, he’s also been met by a significant amount of criticism too, with some branding him a ‘disaster tourist’.
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