Britain has started to withdraw its soldiers and diplomats from Afghanistan, with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) saying the UK's ability to process more civilian evacuations from Afghanistan will now be 'extremely reduced' - meaning as many as 1,250 people, including up to 150 UK nationals, could be left behind.

On Friday night, the MoD said that that 14,543 people had now been extracted from Kabul since August 13, a mix of Afghan and British nationals, and that now the focus would turn to getting diplomats and service personnel out.

Some 8,000 of those were Afghans and their families under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) scheme, which applies to those who helped the UK and are at risk of persecution by the Taliban. 

 But the announcement followed warnings that Britain risks the ‘biggest hostage crisis in its history' by leaving 1,000 Afghan allies to the mercy of the Taliban and Isis-K.

The chilling warning was issued last night as Boris Johnson admitted he felt a ‘great sense of regret' about the many hundreds that UK forces had been unable to evacuate from Kabul. 

Tom Tugendhat, the chair of the Foreign Affairs committee, said the fact people would be left behind filled him with 'anger and shame' and warned 'we may find ourselves with the biggest hostage crisis the UK has ever seen.' 

‘Quite rightly, British citizens and entitled persons are literally in fear of their lives right now.'

The former Army Lieutenant Colonel is one of a growing number of MPs from across the political spectrum to have accused the Government of 'failing' in its mission to keep Afghan staff safe by not completing the evacuations.

Mr Tugendhat added: 'Defeat means you don't get a say...

we have just been defeated, we have no influence over Kabul anymore.' 

And  security sources said they feared that elements of the Taliban or Isis-K could capture vulnerable Afghans or UK citizens and demand a ransom.

Former translators and their families reacted with fury after being left behind, accusing the UK of abandoning them to their fate. 

Operation Pitting - the name for the evacuation effort - is now drawing to a close. Already the Baron Hotel facility, which was being used to process those leaving the country by British officials, has closed. 

The announcement of the end of Operation Pitting comes after the death toll from Thursday's suicide bombing rose to 170, including two British citizens and the child of a British national, as well as 13 U.S.

soldiers. 

Between 800 and 1,100 Afghans eligible under the Arap scheme who would be left behind, while around 100 and 150 UK nationals will be left in Afghanistan, although Mr Wallace said some of those were staying willingly.

As Britain's 20-year military involvement in Afghanistan draws to a close: 

• Ministers hinted they were plotting the elimination of Isis-K leaders responsible for the Kabul atrocity; 
• Among the dead in the blast was Muhammad Niazi, a British Afghan who had travelled from London to help get his family inside the airport, according to the BBC; 
• Mr Johnson appeared to take a swipe at US President Joe Biden, saying the timing of the pull-out was ‘not the one that this country would have chosen'; 
• The Prime Minister said the scenes in Afghanistan in the wake of the bombing were ‘extremely difficult and extremely horrible';
• Animal rescuer Pen Farthing made it out of the country with 200 cats and dogs but without his Afghan staff  
•  A Pentagon spokesman admitted thousands of Islamic State terrorists had been released by the Taliban from US prisons in Afghanistan;
• US officials warned they feared more attempted terror attacks before all Western troops leave ahead of Tuesday's deadline; 
• Defence Secretary Ben Wallace criticised Foreign Office officials who left documents identifying vulnerable Afghan workers strewn on the floor of the British Embassy;
• It emerged that the Taliban now have access to biometric devices containing the names and details - including fingerprints - of Afghans who have helped US forces;