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Last British troops leave Helmand Last British troops leave Helmand
(35 minutes later)
The last British troops have left Helmand province in Afghanistan, a day after the end of UK combat operations was announced. The last UK troops have left Helmand province in Afghanistan, as a poll suggested 68% of the UK public thought the campaign had not been "worthwhile".
The main British base, Camp Bastion, was handed to Afghan control on Sunday. The poll, commissioned by the BBC, also found 14% thought the UK was safer as a result of the 13-year campaign.
The final UK troops at Bastion are believed to have left by helicopter, heading for Kandahar. The end of UK combat operations was announced on Sunday, as the main British base Camp Bastion was handed to Afghan control.
It marks the end of a 13-year military campaign, and the government has said UK troops will not return to fight in Afghanistan "under any circumstances". The final troops left by helicopter, with the last man carrying the UK flag.
US troops from Camp Leatherneck, which adjoined Camp Bastion, have also left, leaving Afghan forces in control of the entire site.US troops from Camp Leatherneck, which adjoined Camp Bastion, have also left, leaving Afghan forces in control of the entire site.
BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale said US and UK troops arrived in Kandahar overnight in "large numbers" on Hercules aircraft, before a "wave of helicopters" carried the remaining few. The telephone poll of 1,000 UK adults, carried out from 24-26 October, found 42% thought the UK was "less safe" as a result of the international intervention in Afghanistan, which began in 2001.
Responses also showed 39% thought there was "no real difference", while 5% did not know or refused to answer.
The government has said UK troops will not return to fight in Afghanistan "under any circumstances".
BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale said troops arrived in Kandahar from Camp Bastion overnight in "large numbers" on Hercules aircraft, before a "wave of helicopters" carried the remaining few.
He said the last man off the final Chinook helicopter carried the British flag that was lowered in a ceremony at Camp Bastion on Sunday.He said the last man off the final Chinook helicopter carried the British flag that was lowered in a ceremony at Camp Bastion on Sunday.
The troops will return home from Kandahar "in the next few days", he added.The troops will return home from Kandahar "in the next few days", he added.
The UK's most senior officer in Helmand, Brig Rob Thomson, said Sunday's ceremony marked the "final step in a deliberate, responsible and measured handover" to the Afghans.
On Sunday, David Cameron tweeted: "We will always remember the courage of those who served on our behalf."
But former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott has questioned whether the results "justified" the 453 UK deaths.
Writing in the Daily Mirror, Lord Prescott, who was in the cabinet that sent British troops to Afghanistan in 2001, said: "I respect the thousands of gallant men and women who went to Afghanistan and Iraq to save lives and restore peace.
"But they teach us that being the world's policeman carries a heavy price and does not justify the heavy loss of lives."