PM defends Afghanistan strategy

Gordon Brown has insisted Britain has the resources "to do the job" in Afghanistan, amid claims troops serving there are under-equipped.

The prime minister told MPs there had been an increase in helicopter capacity since 2006 and UK forces were the best equipped they had been in 40 years.

Tory leader David Cameron attacked the "scandal" of helicopter shortages.

UK forces in Afghanistan will also hold a memorial service later for eight men who died in a single 24-hour period.

Tributes will be paid at Camp Bastion, a day after it emerged that three of those killed on Friday were just 18.

'Very difficult'

Five of those who died on Friday were members of the County Down-based 2nd Battalion The Rifles. They were: Cpl Jonathan Horne, and Riflemen Joseph Murphy, Daniel Simpson, William Aldridge and James Backhouse.

The sixth was Cpl Lee Scott, of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment.

In the same 24 hours - the bloodiest since the start of operations in Afghanistan in 2001 - Rifleman Daniel Hume, of 4th Battalion The Rifles, and Pte John Brackpool, 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, also died.

In a Commons statement Mr Brown told MPs: "It has been a very difficult summer and it is not over yet but if we are to deny Helmand to the Taliban in the long term, if we are to defeat this vicious insurgency... then we must persist in operations in Afghanistan."

But he added: "I am confident that we are right to be in Afghanistan, that we have the strongest possible plan and we have the resources to do the job."

'Scandal'

The Tories have accused the government of the "ultimate dereliction of duty" in under-equipping the armed forces.

At a press conference, Mr Cameron repeated his warning that the government must ensure UK troops in Afghanistan have the right equipment

He added: "It's a scandal in particular that they still lack enough helicopters to move around in Afghanistan."

Mr Cameron also said other Nato countries should fulfil their commitments, arguing that the government needed to "really hold their feet to the fire" and "beg, borrow or frankly steal the helicopters that are necessary".

But the prime minister's spokesman insisted that helicopter capability had almost doubled in two years.

He added: "There is a major operation under way at the moment - Operation Panther's Claw - which is taking the fight to the Taliban and, as a consequence of that, of course we are seeing casualties and of course every single casualty is a matter of great regret.

"But the prime minister's view is that we are pursuing the right strategy in Afghanistan."

Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth said the government was planning to invest £6bn on helicopters over the coming years.

But he added: "The changes in the way in which the operations are being conducted leads to more ground operations and these cannot be conducted from helicopters."

A poll carried out for the BBC and the Guardian suggests public opinion is split over the UK's mission in Afghanistan, despite ministers' claims it is key to preventing terror attacks at home.

Of 1,000 people questioned, 47% said they opposed the British operation, while 46% said they supported it.

However, backing for the campaign appears to have increased since 2006, when only 31% of people gave their support.

The spokesman for the task force in Helmand, Lieutenant Colonel Nick Richardson, said: "The soldiers are very grateful for that support. It gives us a buoyant and a reassuring feeling."

'Classic mistakes'

During Mr Ainsworth's first Commons questions in his new post, shadow defence secretary Liam Fox said the public did not understand "why we're not doing everything we can to reduce the risks to our forces".

Mr Fox added: "If we cannot move our forces by air, they are more vulnerable on the ground."

Former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown said "no helicopter could have saved the casualties of the last few days" and instead problems began earlier in the conflict.

"We made the two classic mistakes of over-ambitious targets and under-resources to achieve them," he said.

"We will need more troops now to recover the tactical and strategic opportunities we lost from lack of troops and over-ambitious targets earlier."

Gordon Brown has said the government had increased defence spending by more than £1bn in the past year.

He said new equipment had already been provided and more, including Merlin helicopters and Ridgeback armoured vehicles, would arrive in the coming months.

Speaking to the British Forces Broadcasting Service, Mr Brown insisted the mission in Afghanistan was crucial to the UK's domestic security.

UK troops have spent recent weeks on an offensive which is designed to increase security ahead of Afghan elections planned for next month.

But the surge has brought a big increase in casualties, with 15 servicemen killed in the first 10 days of the month.

It means 184 service personnel have now died in Afghanistan since 2001, more than the 179 who were killed during the war in Iraq.

The deaths of the three 18-year-olds matches the number previously killed at that age during almost eight years of conflict in Afghanistan.