British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is on a surprise visit to British troops in Afghanistan, a day after giving controversial evidence at the Iraq inquiry in London.

Speaking at Camp Bastion in Helmand province, Mr Brown hailed the first three weeks of a large-scale offensive against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan as a success. He said it offered the local population a "beacon of hope." He thanked the troops for their effort and launched a plea for them to stay until they had accomplished their mission. He also promised to provide 200 new armoured vehicles that are better able to withstand roadside bombs.
 
The offensive, the largest since the US invasion of 2001, involves US, UK and Afghan troops and began on 13 February. So far it has resulted in rebels being driven out of the town of Marjah.
 
At the parliamentary inquiry on Friday, Mr Brown said the decision to invade Iraq in 2003 had been correct and had been supported by the right arguments. He said former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had ignored international justice for years and that that had been sufficient reason to invade his country.