On Saturday night, a Number 10 source insisted Mr Rosenfield, a former senior civil servant at the Treasury, was “in constant contact with the office”.

But the disclosure that he spent Aug 12 watching England play India at Lord’s rather than helping to coordinate the Government response from Number 10 is likely to fuel calls for his departure amid pressure on Mr Johnson to overhaul his operation as part of a “reset” aimed at saving his premiership.

A series of MPs and Cabinet ministers have made clear that they believe Mr Rosenfield should be sacked as part of a shake-up, and Mr Johnsons’s “Praetorian Guard” of unofficial whips helping to shore up his position have promised backbenchers that radical changes are coming.

David Davis, the former Brexit Secretary, said: “It is an extraordinary reflection of the work ethic and commitment of Number 10 staff that a senior member of that staff is taking days off when Afghanistan is falling and Number 10 demanding that ministers return from holiday. “

Another senior Conservative, who has so far refrained from publicly calling for Mr Johnson’s resignation, suggested that the Prime Minister should shoulder at least part of the blame for Mr Rosenfield’s actions.

The MP said: “Can you imagine David Cameron’s chief of staff doing that? No – he would have fired him. Can you imagine Theresa May’s chief of staff doing that? Of course not – she would have fired him.

“Can you imagine this chief of staff doing that when he worked for Alistair Darling or George Osborne? There’s literally no way he would have done it.”

Speaking on Aug 12, Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, said that “the security of British nationals, British military personnel and former Afghan staff is our first priority”, adding: “We must do everything we can to ensure their safety.”

On Aug 21, when Mr Rosenfield attended the Hundred Final at Lord’s in the evening amid the chaotic evacuation effort from Kabul, the city’s airport was shut down and US citizens were urged not to head there amid reports of people dying after being crushed or succumbing to sweltering temperatures.

A Number 10 source said: “Dan was in constant contact with the office, working long days and weekends throughout the period which saw the fall of Kabul and subsequent safe evacuation of 15,000 people in Operation Pitting.”

Mr Johnson is likely to come under further pressure from his MPs this week as Sue Gray prepares to hand over a redacted report on events in Number 10 said to have breached Covid rules.