Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended the U.K.’s response to the collapse of the Afghan government and said British evacuation efforts in Kabul were long planned in anticipation of the Taliban takeover. “It’s been clear for many months that the situation could go very fast and that’s been part of the intelligence briefing,” Johnson told broadcasters during a visit to a military base in Essex, east of London, on Thursday. The U.K.’s response was not “spur-of-the moment,” he said. Johnson’s government is embroiled in a major political row over the U.K.’s rapid withdrawal from Afghanistan, with the country back in the hands of the regime Britain and its allies went in to overthrow, and crucially leaving behind many Afghans who helped the U.K., and who now risk reprisals from the Taliban. Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm Subscribe to our newest channel Quicktake Explained: https://bit.ly/3iERrup Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world. To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/qt/live, or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app. Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake: https://cor.us/surveys/27AF30 Connect with us on… YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Bloomberg Breaking News on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BloombergQuickTakeNews Twitter: https://twitter.com/quicktake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quicktake Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quicktake