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Britain is expected to conclude its civilian evacuation operation from Afghanistan today, says the chief of the defence staff.

General Sir Nick Carter said on Saturday morning how there were now "very few" civilian evacuation flights arriving in the UK from Kabul.

Afghanistan live updates: UK troops arrive home as evacuations due to conclude today

The last remaining UK forces will need to withdraw, he said.

But the final stages of the withdrawal and evacuation represent the "hardest" of any phase of war, General Sir Nick said.

"There has to be an ever diminishing rearguard that protects your back as you're evacuating yourselves, and of course there comes a point when it really is the last aeroplane out.

"There are all sorts of things that can go wrong" when the final planes leave, such as the "threat of terrorism", he said.

"You are at your very most vulnerable at the point at which your last aeroplane is waiting to lift."

Sir Nick warned Britain is "not out of the woods yet" as this final phase gets under way, adding: "The operation will carry on for a little bit longer. But it's been a huge enterprise."

Troops are working in the face of a "very demanding threat" while also focusing on the "humanitarian job" with soldiers "holding a gun in one hand and a baby in the other", adding: "It has been very difficult".

"The plain fact is we have always got that in the back of our minds.

"For the troops on the ground, they have to be constantly alert and constantly thinking about how they can rebut the threat.

"I think we should be holding our breath and thinking very hard about that last airplane or several last airplane-loads and thinking about what a challenge it is going to be for those very brave people who are trying to effect their departure in as safe and orderly fashion as they can," he said.

Sir Nick, who spent almost three years in Afghanistan, described his regret that the 20-year mission in Afghanistan had ended with the Taliban in charge and a grave terrorist threat.

He said of the withdrawal: "It's not how we hoped it would end, that's absolutely right."

He added: "I think we have done an extraordinary job to evacuate as many as we can but I'm afraid it's absolutely heart-breaking we can't get everybody out.

"If they are able to get out they will always be welcome but the awful fact of life is difficult decisions have to be made."

He told how of his heartbreak that Britain was unable to rescue all Afghans with the right to travel to the UK, adding: "Not a day passes without me having a bit of a tear in my eye".

US forces, which have by far the largest presence, will be the last to depart ahead of a deadline of Tuesday, set by President Joe Biden.

The last UK troops are set to leave before then, however the Ministry of Defence has not given a specific time due to security reasons.

Britain has airlifted almost 15,000 Afghans and UK passport holders to safety since Operation Pitting was launched following the collapse of the Afghan government and lightning takeover by the Taliban a fortnight ago.

It comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed to "shift heaven and earth" to get people out of Afghanistan.

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Labour shadow defence secretary, John Healey, told Sky News how he also expected the evacuation efforts to wrap up within 24 hours - as flights continued to arrive at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.

Mr Healey said: "This is the brutal truth, despite getting more than 14,000 people out, there are probably 1,000 Afghans who have worked with us over two decades in Afghanistan, helped our troops, our aid workers, our diplomats, that we promised to protect, but we're leaving behind.

"And I know those troops in particular will feel our failure on this as a country is a betrayal of many of those who risked their own lives to work alongside us."

The Ministry of Defence said on Friday how, once the final civilian evacuations were complete, more space would be available on military jets for diplomats and personnel.