A British and an Irish diplomat accused of holding talks with Taleban militants were today expelled from Afghanistan by the Government in Kabul as "detrimental to the national security of the country".

United Nations and European Union chiefs had tried to persuade the Afghan Government to reverse its decision to throw out the acting head of the European Union mission and a senior UN official, privately describing the move as “foolish”.

The expulsion order was made after the pair – Michael Semple, an Irish EU official with extensive Taleban contacts, and Mervyn Patterson, a UN official from Northern Ireland - travelled to the town of Musa Qala in northern Helmand to meet Afghan powerbrokers, days after Taleban fighters were driven out by British troops.

Both men have worked in Afghanistan for many years, speak local languages fluently, and understand the country's complex tribal structures.

Expert View

The Afghan Government, supported by Britain, is attempting to 'peel off' lower-ranking members of the Taleban

Michael Evans, Defence Editor

• More

• Post a comment

Related Links

• Comment: no reason to do deals

• Presents from a grateful nation

• Many a Christmas Yet

Unnamed Afghan officials had at first claimed that the pair had visited Taleban leaders, paid them, and may even have been supporting the insurgency.

A source in Kabul said that the accusation against the men was made after President Karzai of Afghanistan was told that the pair were attempting to broker a deal with the Taleban behind his back.

Britain insisted last night that discussions with lower-ranking members of the Taleban had been sanctioned by the Afghan Government, and did not justify the expulsion of two such senior Western officials.

But Humayun Hamidzada, a spokesman for Mr Karzai, claimed that the two had been involved in activities that "were not their jobs", and today they were placed on a flight out of the country.

Britain and other members of the 40-nation international security force in Afghanistan are currently supporting Mr Karzai’s attempts to “peel off” lower-ranking members of the Taleban who are not fully committed to the insurgency.

Western diplomats have split the Taleban into three tiers: the hard core leadership that rejects any kind of reconciliation and has strong links with al-Qaeda; a middle layer that is committed to the cause but is not necessarily beyond redemption; and the massed ranks of tier three, who comprise young out-of-work Afghans or hard-up farmers who fight for the Taleban for about £5 to £10 a day. Officials believe that there is scope for persuasion within the middle and lowest tiers.

MI6 is playing its part in meeting likely candidates, but its role, according to senior British government officials, is strictly in line with Kabul’s strategy of reconciliation.

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office official said last night: “Given the character of a country such as Afghanistan, it would be inconceivable not to come across people who at some point will have had links to the Taleban, but that does not mean that we are following a policy of engagement with the Taleban. That is entirely wrong.”

The UN learnt of the decision to expel the pair only from a press conference given by the President’s spokesman that was broadcast live on television on Boxing Day.

At one point it was feared that the pair had been arrested by plainclothes security forces.

Aleem Siddique, a spokesman for the UN in Kabul, insisted that the two men had met tribal elders in Musa Qala on Monday as part of a fact-finding mission to see stabilisation after the battle.

He insisted that they had not met Taleban leaders. He said that UN officials were banned from doing so under a security resolution, even though the UN is assisting Afghan government efforts at “reconciliation”, and its attempts to persuade Taleban leaders to change sides.

Mr Siddique said: “It is essential to reach out to people on the ground in Musa Qala. That does not equal talking to terrorists. It is unfortunate that our efforts have been misconstrued by the Government of Afghanistan.”

Times Recommends

• Tehran cannot live up to its rhetoric
• The new unicycle that will ‘change the world’
• We cannot wish away Iran’s bomb