Ben Wallace today rebuked a former Royal Marine for complaining that UK forces are blocking a charter flight from taking his staff and rescue dogs out of Kabul.
The Defence Secretary insisted he will not 'prioritise pets over people' after Paul Farthing - known as Pen - vented fury that he was being prevented from using the privately-funded plane.
The 52-year-old said he had been 'left to fend for myself' after organising the flight for his 25 Afghan staff as well as the charity's dogs and cats. He announced the UK Government granted visas for all of his staff and their dependents.
But in a round of interviews a clearly frustrated Mr Wallace while Mr Farthing had done 'amazing' work, all the plane would achieve if it landed in Kabul was to 'block the airfield' and 'sit there empty'.
'There is a confusion, I am afraid some of the campaigners have latched on to the fact they have chartered a plane, as if this somehow is the magic wand,' he said.
'The magic wand is whether people can get through Kabul through the Taliban checkpoints and then through the 3,000-plus people, some of whom are waiting in front of the queue because they are under real threat, direct threat right now from the Taliban.'
He added: 'I am not prepared to prioritise, for example, pets over people.'
Mr Wallace said that Mr Farthing himself could get through the gates and his staff were entitled to refuge in the UK, but he could not 'guarantee' they would be airlifted 'in this window'.
Paul 'Pen' Farthing, 52, said he has been 'left to fend for myself' after the MoD allegedly stopped his privately rented plane from taking off
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace insisted he will not 'prioritise pets over people' in the evacuation
Pen Farthing is founder of the Nowzad charity which he set up after befriending a stray dog while serving in Helmand in 2006
Former Royal Marine Commando Pen Farthing has been working with his Norwegian wife Kaisa Helene (above) and their team in Kabul
Mr Farthing with dogs RPG and Jena, who were destined to die from starvation or dog fights in Afghanistan until he stepped in
The comments came after Mr Farthing told ITV's Good Morning Britain: 'Today we still do not have anything from the MoD, in fact they cut me off.
'I did have an emergency line that I could call if I was in trouble or needed to report something that's going on but that's been cut so I've been literally left now on my own in enemy-held territory. I just can't get my head around that.
'We've got a privately-funded plane that can take 250 passengers out, 69 of them would be me and the staff, but we've got an empty cargo hold. I don't understand the problems here, I'm not asking the MoD to give me a plane I just need to have a call sign.'
Mr Farthing claimed he had not received documents from the Home Office that would allow his staff to get past Taliban checkpoints and leave the country.
But Mr Wallace told Sky News: 'He could get through the gates as a British passport holder. He was called forward on Friday and I recommend he takes that.
'His workforce have been offered, as entitled personnel, places and they will be able to be called forward, but I can't guarantee in this window they will be processed onto aircraft, all I can say is they qualify.'
He added on LBC radio: 'I have some
