Just two days after Blair announced 1,600 soldiers were coming home from Iraq we're told we need..

BRITAIN is to send up to 1,000 more troops to Afghanistan after Tony Blair failed to persuade Nato allies to shoulder more of the burden.

They will go to bloody Helmand province, Defence Secretary Des Browne announced yesterday.

Two squadrons of the Household Cavalry - which is also sending Prince Harry's A Squadron to Iraq - are thought to be involved.

The news came two days after the Prime Minister boasted he was reducing the force in Iraq by 1,600.

Critics said he was allowing Mr Browne to announce failures while he heralded only successes.

Mr Browne said the decision to send more troops had been taken after the failure of efforts to persuade other Nato countries to help.

He added: "We are acutely aware that our forces, particularly the Army, continue to operate at a high operational tempo but we believe this additional commitment is manageable."

After meeting fellow Nato leaders in November Mr Blair said he expected they would take on more of a combat role in fighting the Taliban.

There are 5,600 British troops in Afghanistan, adding to the 35,000 Nato force. Commanders have complained they do not have the manpower for a decisive victory.

And there is frustration that the brunt of the fighting has been borne by Britain, the US and Canada with countries such as France and Germany restricting troops to more placid parts of the country.

Shadow Defence Secretary Liam Fox said it was clear that calls by Mr Blair and US President George Bush for other countries to boost their commitment fell on deaf ears.

He said: "Those troops should be coming from countries such as Germany, France, Italy and Spain who have not shown adequate resolve." He also condemned Mr Blair for failing to mention the new deployment in his Iraq statement.

He added: "Our army is so overstretched that we can't carry two conflicts. We were told there were no plans to reduce troops in Iraq to reinforce in Afghanistan.

"The Government is not only incompetent but also dishonest."

The Marine who died in the UK yesterday after being injured in a road accident in Afghanistan was named last night as Scott Summers, 23, of 42 Commando Royal Marines, from Crawley, East Sussex.


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