UK says deadline for Afghanistan evacuation is to the last minute of Aug. 31

A member of the UK Armed Forces bumps fists with a child as he continues to take part in the evacuation of entitled personnel from Kabul airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan August 19-22, 2021, in this handout picture obtained by Reuters on August 23, 2021. LPhot Ben Shread/UK MOD Crown copyright 2021/Handout via REUTERS/Files

LONDON (Reuters) - British foreign minister Dominic Raab said on Wednesday that the deadline for evacuating people from Afghanistan was up to the last minute of this month.

Raab was asked after a White House spokesperson said at a briefing on Tuesday they needed to check if the deadline for evacuations was up to the last minute of Aug. 30 or Aug. 31.

"We think it goes until the end of August, but the military planners will firm up the details for the precise time frame," Raab told BBC TV.

Raab said Britain hoped there would be a functioning airport in Kabul after the evacuations end.

(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; editing by Michael Holden)