To ask if you think ben wallace has done a bad job?

[Needapoodle]

Loads of people on social media calling for Ben's (defence secretary) resignation over pen farthing and his operation ark.

I think ben and his department have suddenly been thrust into a highly volatile and constantly changing dangerous situation in which he has to make decisions for the good of the most amount of people possible. I also think that the insistence on evacuating hundreds of animals will undoubtedly have taken resources away from getting people out of Afghanistan and prevented human lives from being saved. I don't think that calling for ben's resignation over some animals not being able to be evacuated is reasonable at all. Or have i missed something?

I have seen people on Twitter urging people to call Ben Wallace directly, giving a phone number. Seriously people, he has better things to do.

I have also seen people on Twitter thanking Carrie for her involvement. I'm is it just me that thinks if she did bend her husband's ear on this that is a disgrace? Foreign policy should not be based on the PM's wife's personal interests.

KeflavikAirport

The brave rescue animals who are a soldier's only friend seem to include embassy cats with names like Mr. grey and Socks. Sounds quite a lot like pets to me

But not Pen Farthings pets which is how some people are describing them.

this has been a headache for Ben Wallace

People are objecting to the word "pets" per se. There also seems to be some misinformation floating around about a deceased soldier's dog being repatriated when the dog was in fact returned to his mother in 2011.

I think Mr. Farthing is honourable but misguided. I don't think his social media followers are covering themselves in glory at all.

I think Mr. Farthing is honourable but misguided. I don't think his social media followers are covering themselves in glory at all.

i agree,
it is an embarrassment

I think of lot of the behavior will be put down to “ the ends justifying the means”…

That’s fine as long everybody else, regardless of political, animal or whatever allegiance gets cut similar slack in future debates that’s fine and doesn’t get told to #bekind.

I'm embarrassed by Twitter. When people on twitter think they can actually intervene in MOD affairs whilst we are literally in a war crisis to harass him over one man and his staff its a sad state of affairs our culture has become.

I don't even understand why Ben Wallace is even on twitter. they all need to come off it.

Amundsen got to the South Pole and safely back where Scott failed and died because only one of them was prepared in extremis to eat his dogs.

I was talking about this with someone the other day and they said that Brits love animals as much if not more than their actual relatives/friends so it's not necessarily surprising that so many people have felt so bad for the animals. It completely perplexes me but I can see that this might be something cultural.

@Teamfemale

I'm embarrassed by Twitter. When people on twitter think they can actually intervene in MOD affairs whilst we are literally in a war crisis to harass him over one man and his staff its a sad state of affairs our culture has become.

I don't even understand why Ben Wallace is even on twitter. they all need to come off it.

This!!

@IAmSuperman

Let the man do his job without all the social media experts interfering

He can ignore the tweets. If he can’t cope with people disagreeing with him, he’s in the wrong job.

Dyer and his supporters were tweeting Ben Wallace’s office phone number, which was then receiving endless abusive calls. That was why they had to respond.

Dyer and his supporters were tweeting Ben Wallace’s office phone number, which was then receiving endless abusive calls. That was why they had to respond.

But Pen and Dom Dyer are not responsible for people leaving abusive messages. They didn’t say, ‘please phone and tweet and make sure you abuse people.’ I know plenty that support Pen but haven’t left abusive messages on Wallace’s office number or his twitter account, Noone I know would do that. If individuals have done that then they are responsible for their own actions.

It's a great win for UK Gov - very successful spin and distraction from its actual failings in this debacle. Everyone is frothing about "people not pets" instead of focusing on why the fuck we've got to the situation where 1000+ eligible people are being left behind. Somehow Pen is going to end up being the sole reason we didn't get every eligible person out. Well played the Tories.

I think it’s incredibly naive to suggest that publishing someone’s office number would not incite people to use it for abuse or nuisance calls at the very least, at a time that the MOD and civil service are coordinating the most complex and time sensitive humanitarian mission of our time. It goes in the category of making hoax 999 call in the midst of a terrorist attack.

All the Twitter warriors involving themselves in this from their cosy safe homes should be ashamed of themselves. If the evacuation mission has in any way been hampered by these calls, those people should be tracked down to explain to the worried family of British nationals or Afghan interpreters why they were wasting precious time and resources on this.

@snowballer

It's a great win for UK Gov - very successful spin and distraction from its actual failings in this debacle. Everyone is frothing about "people not pets" instead of focusing on why the fuck we've got to the situation where 1000+ eligible people are being left behind. Somehow Pen is going to end up being the sole reason we didn't get every eligible person out. Well played the Tories.

I don't think that's the case at all.

And that is not a criticism of Pen himself, when you hear him speak he seems pragmatic and understanding of the job in hand, but the social media storm about it over here is shocking. Whether people like Ben Wallace or not, I can’t believe people would hinder him doing the work in front of him to do.

I think it's a sign that people do not trust this Government to care about people or animals.

I think it’s incredibly naive to suggest that publishing someone’s office number would not incite people to use it for abuse or nuisance calls at the very least, at a time that the MOD and civil service are coordinating the most complex and time sensitive humanitarian mission of our time. It goes in the category of making hoax 999 call in the midst of a terrorist attack.

I didn’t see Pen or anyone involved give out the number. Maybe they did though. I did hear them say tweet, call etc. But no, I don’t think that means abuse. It wouldn’t have crossed my mind to be abusive as that’s not who I am. It’s nothing like a hoax 999 call though.

If the evacuation mission has in any way been hampered by these calls, those people should be tracked down to explain to the worried family of British nationals or Afghan interpreters why they were wasting precious time and resources on this.

That’s ridiculous.

@boogiewithasuitcase

I think it's a sign that people do not trust this Government to care about people or animals.

If that’s the case why would “this Government” put several hundred UK troops back into harms way into Kabul and why would they fly hundreds, maybe thousands, out on RAF aircraft?

If they didn’t care about people they could have just sloped shoulders and said “nothing we can do about that”..

@KeflavikAirport

People are objecting to the word "pets" per se. There also seems to be some misinformation floating around about a deceased soldier's dog being repatriated when the dog was in fact returned to his mother in 2011.

I think Mr. Farthing is honourable but misguided. I don't think his social media followers are covering themselves in glory at all.

This is awful. I hope someone has the decency to apologise to the deceased soldier's family for any distress caused.

@snowballer

It's a great win for UK Gov - very successful spin and distraction from its actual failings in this debacle. Everyone is frothing about "people not pets" instead of focusing on why the fuck we've got to the situation where 1000+ eligible people are being left behind. Somehow Pen is going to end up being the sole reason we didn't get every eligible person out. Well played the Tories.

Yep.

For context/overview/the big picture::

www.bbc.com/news/uk-58367225

“ On Friday, the Ministry of Defence said the UK had evacuated 14,543 people from Kabul since 13 August.”

I think every other country involved is basically having to cope with the American administration totally FUBAR-ing the situation. The sense of anger and frustration from everyone is palpable.

Twitter is a cesspit

One man tweeted about the 10 families he has been trying to get out while farthing and animals have used extreme pressure (emotional blackmail) to get out.

One woman actually responded to say that she would sleep well because the "furbabies" were safe

FFS. Bombarding the people managing the evacuation with over emotive nonsense distracts from the matter at hand

I wonder how many of the keyboard warriors would do better