Britain is in direct talks with the Taliban over securing safe passage out of Afghanistan for UK nationals and Afghans who have worked for Britain, a government spokesperson said late on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's special representative for Afghan transition, Simon Gass, traveled to Doha, Qatar, to meet with Taliban representatives, the spokesperson said in a statement.

"(Gass) is meeting with senior Taliban representatives to underline the importance of safe passage out of Afghanistan for British nationals, and those Afghans who have worked with us over the past twenty years," the statement said.