Defence Secretary Liam Fox promises the troops better equipment

Published on Monday 24 May 2010 00:04

DEFENCE Secretary Liam Fox has promised British troops in Afghanistan that the new coalition government will ensure they have everything they needed to do the job.

• Liam Fox has promised that the new coalition government will deliver better equipment for troops

On a visit to the war-torn country, Mr Fox also vowed there would be no going back on a Tory pledge to double the operational allowance paid to those on the front line.

He said details of the move would be contained in the Budget next month, but refused to say when the raise would take effect, arguing that was the responsibility of Chancellor George Osborne.

Mr Fox, Foreign Secretary William Hague and International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell flew into Camp Bastion in the early hours yesterday after a day of talks in Kabul yesterday.

They were diverted to the Helmand base after being forced to tear up plans to visit Kandahar Airfield after it came under attack from the Taleban.

The incident laid bare for the new ministers the security challenge that continues to face Nato forces in Afghanistan.

But the three ministers – on the first visit to the country by members of the new Conservative-Liberal Democrat administration – affirmed their commitment to the US-led strategy already in place.

Mr Hague repeatedly refused to put a date on when British troops might start to withdraw from the country. They currently number about 10,000.

In a speech to about 80 service personnel in Lashkar Gah, Mr Fox said: "I will give you my promise that we will do everything we can to ensure that whatever you are asked to do, you are properly, fully equipped to do so, to maximise your chance of success and minimise the risk to you." His comments follow years of criticism – often led by Mr Fox himself – of the previous Labour administration for failing to equip troops properly.

Mr Fox also said the Tories' manifesto promise to double the operational allowance for troops serving in Afghanistan had been included in last week's coalition agreement.

He had been tackled by servicemen and women about the pledge as he mingled with them at the Provincial Reconstruction Team headquarters.

The allowance is presently worth about 2,600 per six-month tour and is tax-free.

"We will announce that we are going ahead with that. The details of that will be announced in the Budget next month," he said.

"We believe it is not just enough to come and say thank you or to tell you how proud we are about what you are doing.

"We also have to recognise that as well in the hardest way possible – which is to get the Treasury to cough up."

Asked by reporters later exactly when the cash would be found, he was non-committal.

"The Chancellor will announce the timing when he makes the Budget statement," he said.

The three ministers were flown into Lashkar Gah on Chinook helicopters, which then took them on to Nad-e Ali, where they were shown the results of dramatic improvements in security in recent months.

Accompanied by Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, they were able to conduct a walkabout in the town, where shops have gradually begun to reopen as the area has been secured by the British as part of Operation Moshtarak.

Mr Hague praised the "enormous progress" that had been made in the past two years.

"The difference over that period, the difference in governance, the difference in freedom of movement, the difference in protecting communities, is colossal," he said. "And a lot of that progress has been made in the last few months."

Speaking to troops, he added: "We want to thank you for all that hard work."