Troops to Afghanistan - town MP's criticism

12.00.00am GMT Tue 27th Feb 2007

The failure of other European Union and NATO countries to commit their troops to southern Afghanistan has been criticised in the House of Commons by Colchester MP Bob Russell.

Mr Russell, a member of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Defence Team, said that Britain was having to take on more than its fair share of deployment in the dangerous Helmand Province, adding to the overstretch of the British Armed Forces.

He made his comments after the Secretary of State for Defence, Mr Des Browne MP, announced the deployment of another 1,400 troops to Afghanistan.

This is the second time that Mr Russell has spoken on this issue in the Commons. Responding to Mr Browne's statement, Mr Russell said: "If those countries are refusing to help to rid the world of terrorism and are adding to the overstretch of the British Armed Forces, they should at least fund the operations that we are putting forward."

Soldiers from the Colchester Garrison have previously served in Afghanistan. Several have lost their lives, leading last October to Mr Russell raising directly at Prime Minister's Questions his criticism of other EU and NATO countries for refusing to send their troops to deal with the Taliban insurgents in Helmand Province.