[1] The evacuation implemented commitments made by the British government under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), which began in April 2021.

[15] Despite this, the Trump administration in the United States agreed to an initial reduction of its force level from 13,000 to 8,600 by July 2020, followed by a full withdrawal by 1 May 2021.

[18] The Taliban stepped up its offensives in response to the US and NATO withdrawals, making significant advancements in the countryside and increasing the number of its controlled districts from 73 to 223 in the first three months.

[20] British Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace was highly critical of the deal between the US and the Taliban, describing it as "rotten" and a "mistake".

[22] In the UK, calls were made by veterans, politicians and campaigners for the government to grant asylum to Afghans who assisted British forces during the war, such as interpreters, due to fears of Taliban reprisals.

An Afghan Threat and Risk Evaluation Unit (ATREU) was established at the British Embassy in Kabul to assess candidates.

The operation began with approximately 600 military personnel, some of which were drawn from the British Army's high-readiness 16 Air Assault Brigade, tasked with logistical support and force protection.

They were joined by a small team from the Home Office to assist the FCDO in Kabul with processing visas and other travel documents.

[33] British military personnel began arriving at Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport on 15 August aboard a Royal Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III.

[36] A total of eleven RAF aircraft, consisting of four Voyagers, four C-17s, two Atlas C1s and one Lockheed C-130J Hercules were involved in operations during the same day.

During an interview with LBC, an emotional Wallace also admitted that some people would be left behind, particularly those not in Kabul, but insisted that the operation was open-ended and without a time limit.

[48] On 18 August, reports began to emerge that Taliban checkpoints outside the airport were refusing entry to some Afghans and beating women and children.

[49] This was followed by a report published by the RHIPTO Norwegian Center for Global Analyses that the Taliban were conducting door-to-door searches for Afghans who had previously assisted coalition forces.

[52] On 20 August, a report from The Times claimed UK Special Forces were active in Kabul and seeking out those unable to access the airport due to the Taliban.

[54] During the same day, an on-scene report by Sky News Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay provided an insight into the procedures undertaken by British forces.

Beyond the containers, a chaotic crowd of "possibly tens of thousands" awaited processing, held back by a line of paratroopers with riot shields.

[57] On 22 August, the US made changes to its evacuation procedures due to the threat posed by ISIL-KP, a branch of the Islamist terrorist organisation Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant which is known to be active in Afghanistan.

[67] Former Defence Minister Johnny Mercer denied claims the UK was unable to carry out its operations without the US and argued it was an issue of political will.

[70] During the same day, a suicide bombing occurred on the outskirts of the airport which resulted in the deaths of at least 182 people, including 13 US military personnel,[71] and injuries to over 150.

[72] There were initial reports of a second bombing occurring at Baron Hotel, which was being used as a processing centre for British forces,[73] however subsequent investigations found a second attack had not taken place.

[79] Hours after the attack, an RAF C-17 loaded with evacuees also had a near miss with three vehicles, including a bus, which had mistakenly steered onto the runway.

Both pilots believed aborting take-off would result in a collision, however the aircraft was able to reach the required speed to get airborne, narrowly missing the vehicles by 10–15 ft (3.0–4.6 m).

On 30 August, Politico also claimed that US commanders wanted to close Abbey Gate due to the risk of an attack but kept it open at the UK's request to allow British evacuations to take place.

[82] Wallace also disclosed that timetables had been "squeezed" and military equipment was under consideration to be left behind or destroyed to free up capacity for more Afghans and British nationals.

[84] During one of the final evacuation flights, flying via Dubai to Birmingham, an Afghan refugee gave birth to a baby girl.

[2][3] The British Army was involved with a variety of tasks, including force protection, logistics, humanitarian assistance and the processing of evacuees.

Speaking on his promotion, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace praised his "key" role in the success of Operation Pitting.

Raab had received strong criticism for refusing to return home early from a holiday whilst Afghanistan fell to the Taliban.

[112] On 31 August 2021, following the end of the evacuation operation, Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Wigston stated that the UK was ready to launch strikes against ISIL-KP, the group responsible for the terrorist attack which killed two British nationals and a child of a third, as well as 13 US service personnel and dozens of Afghans during Operation Pitting.

On 13 September 2021, around 140 troops from 1st Battalion, Royal Gurkha Rifles deployed to Kosovo as part of this operation to provide force protection and assistance with processing refugees prior to their onward transfer to the UK.