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Minister defends UK forces' kit Minister defends UK forces' kit
(31 minutes later)
British troops in Afghanistan are being properly equipped and the idea they are not is "a million miles from the truth", says the armed forces minister. The UK government has denied troops in Afghanistan are not properly equipped after it emerged a British officer criticised supplies before his death.
But Bill Rammell said "no military chief" and "no minister" could guarantee against the loss of life. Lt Col Rupert Thorneloe, 39, warned of a helicopter shortage in a memo before he died in a roadside bombing.
He was speaking after it emerged the most senior British officer killed there had warned about the risks posed to troops by a shortage of helicopters. In response, forces minister Bill Rammell said "no military chief" and "no minister" could guarantee against the loss of life.
Lt Col Rupert Thorneloe, 39, died in a roadside bombing in Helmand in July. Lt Col Thorneloe was the most senior British officer to be killed.
Mr Rammell told the BBC that advice from the military was that troops did have enough helicopters for the Afghan campaign.
"We do not commit troops, and the service chiefs will confirm this, if there is an unacceptable balance of risk," he said.
But he added: "That cannot guarantee against the loss of life, because the Taliban have hugely increased their planting of improvised explosive devices.
"We cannot succeed in Afghanistan just in heavily-armoured vehicles or in helicopters.
"The military will tell you that to win hearts and minds you need boots on the ground - that entails a risk."
'Not fit for purpose'
Col Thorneloe, commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards, was killed on 1 July during Operation Panther's Claw, the offensive against insurgent strongholds in Helmand province.
Trooper Joshua Hammond also died when their convoy was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED) near Lashkar Gah.
In memos sent three weeks earlier and published in Saturday's Daily Mail, he warned his brigade commanders in the UK about a shortage of helicopters in Helmand, and the increased risks posed to British troops.
"I have tried to avoid griping about helicopters - we all know we don't have enough," he wrote.
"We cannot not move people, so this month we have conducted a great deal of administrative movement by road.
"This increases the IED threat and our exposure to it."
Col Thorneloe, from Kirtlington, near Oxford, said he had "virtually no" helicopters of the type which would allow him to move troops by air rather than road.
He also termed the system used to manage helicopter movements in Afghanistan as "very clearly not fit for purpose".
The memos were leaked by an official to Tory MP Adam Holloway, a former officer.