8th Mar 10
Gordon Brown hits back over Afghan visit claims
by Katie Naylor
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has condemned Tory critics who allege that he flew to Afghanistan as a pre-election publicity stunt.
Mr Brown toured British bases to thank troops for their bravery in Operation Moshtarak, the recent huge assault against the Taliban.
His journey to Camp Bastion prompted a new row as it came just a day after the PM appeared in London at the Iraq War inquiry.
The visit came just weeks before the anticipated General Election on May 6, prompting the Tories to demand an apology from the PM for using the armed forces as political props when politically convenient.
Shadow defence secretary Liam Fox said that Mr Brown had form when it came to cynically timed visits to troops. In 2007 he flew to Iraq to make an announcement about troop reductions which never took place.
Fox went on to say that the PM had a duty to use this visit to apologise in person to the troops for letting them down consistently during Labour’s decade of neglect.
However, Mr Brown has strongly insisted he was now on his eighth visit to Afghanistan since becoming PM in 2007 and that his trips included regular tours in either March or April every year.
He went on to say that over the last four years, he has visited Afghanistan just to see what the troops have been doing and the progress that has been made.
Number 10 added that The Chief and the Defence Staff, Air Marshall Sir Jock Stirrup, was consulted on the timing of the visit.
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