Diplomat ordered out of Afghanistan

ONE of the most senior Irish diplomats working overseas has been given until today to get out of Afghanistan, because of contacts he made with anti-government factions.

Michael Semple, the deputy head of the European Union mission in Afghanistan, who has extensive experience working in the region, was detained by secret police having made contact with representatives of the Taliban in the Helmand province town of Husa Quala.

Last night, Fine Gael foreign affairs spokesman Billy Timmins called on the Minister for Foreign Affairs to ensure that all steps are taken through EU diplomatic channels and through the EU and Irish embassies in Iran to establish the details surrounding the reported proposal to expel from Afghanistan an Irish national working with the EU.

Mr Timmins said: “Whatever misunderstanding or error in procedure or protocol may have occurred should be clarified, and the details should be relayed to other Irish personnel in Afghanistan so they can avoid running into the same difficulties.”

Mr Semple, along with a British diplomat, were ordered to leave the country after they were accused of being “detrimental to the national security of the country”.

Mr Semple, deputy head of the EU mission in Kabul, and Mervyn Patterson, a senior UN official, visited the southern province of Helmand on Monday.