Boris Johnson meets troops on visit to Merville Barracks in Colchester

Mr Johnson was in the town to visit members of 16 Air Assault, who had been on the frontline helping evacuate UK and Afghan nationals from the Middle East country.

During a short address to troops who had returned from Afghanistan he said: “Mainly, I want to say what an incredible thing you’ve just done.

"There’s literally nothing like it, not just in my lifetime, but I don’t think this century or for the last 100 years or longer."

Mr Johnson said the operation was “nothing like the Berlin airlift” or other military evacuations, adding: “This wasn’t just a military evacuation, this was the biggest-ever humanitarian airlift in the history of this country, and I don’t think anybody expected that you would bring back 16,000 people.

“It was an extraordinary feat of endurance, patience, care, thought, planning, and I think you should all be incredibly proud of what you’ve just done and I know the whole country is incredibly proud of you for what you did.”

During the visit, the Prime Minister faced questions over the Government's handling of the crisis.

Asked why Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was on holiday despite it being clear Kabul was about to fall, Mr Johnson told reporters: “I think the whole Government has been working continuously to make sure that we did what we could to extract people from Kabul.

“I think everybody who has taken part – I’m talking about the armed forces – in the Kabul airlift, and they’ve seen some pretty harrowing things and they’ve been exposed to people in the extremity of anxiety, of fear for their lives, and they’ve acquitted themselves incredibly well.

“I think they should be very, very proud of what they’ve done.”

The Prime Minister said there are two tasks for the UK following the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Read more:

• Man hurt after Colchester town centre fight still in critical condition
• Sainsbury's apologises to drivers stuck in Stanway store's car park
• Plans for new 18 homes in West Bergholt set to be approved

He said: “The real job now is – two things we have got to do – we have got to make sure that we continue the work with local councils coming forward to help people find somewhere to live, make sure their kids have got somewhere to go to school, make sure they can be properly integrated into the UK economy and society.

“Secondly, we have got to make sure that we level with the Taliban who are the new authorities in Kabul.

“They have got to understand that if they want engagement with the west, with us, our friends, and I know that they do, then the first priority for us is safe passage for those who want to leave.”