**The head of the UK Army has said better equipment is needed to protect troops from roadside bombs in Afghanistan.**General Sir Richard Dannatt told the BBC troops “needed more” and added that he would be compiling a shopping list of what was required.
Gordon Brown has repeatedly insisted the Army has enough equipment and denied claims of a helicopter shortage.
The general’s comments will be seen as careful “parting shots”, says the BBC’s defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt.
Gen Dannatt gave his interview as he prepared to step down as head of the British Army next month.
“We need more and that will be a shopping list that I’ll bring back”
General Sir Richard Dannatt
Our correspondent says Gen Dannatt has long been “a vocal advocate” of the need for the nation to take care of the welfare of its Armed Forces.
In return for their service, he says more money needs to be spent on equipment for British forces in Afghanistan
The general, who is on his last trip to Afghanistan before he stands down, earlier reportedly angered Downing Street when he made it clear he had been flown in an American helicopter, thus making clear no British alternative had been available.
In response, ministers have pointed out that all coalition helicopters in Afghanistan are available for use by all NATO allies.
Last week the outspoken general drew fire when comments he made about the presence of UK troops in Iraq were interpreted as “unconstitutional”.
Now his recent comments about the alleged shortage of equipment in Afghanistan have hit a raw nerve in a month in which 15 British soldiers have died in Helmand - 12 killed by roadside bombs.
Extra troops
The sensitivity of the subject was underlined on Thursday, when the prime minister avoided giving a direct answer to a committee of MPs as to whether he had received or rejected a request for an extra 2000 troops in Helmand.
HAVE YOUR SAY
“* Helicopters are essential in any war where the enemy is laying mines or IEDs. To say otherwise is a clear signal that Gordon Brown does not value the lives of British servicemen and women*”
Roger Hart, Deal
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But while Gen Dannatt has previously called for more “boots on the ground”, he has stressed the extra resources could be British, American or Afghan.
In his latest interview he said that surveillance of the Taliban needed to be improved so that the Army could see where the bombs were being laid.
Gen Dannatt added: “We need more, and that will be a shopping list that I’ll bring back.”
The big increase in UK casualties has come as coalition troops conduct a military offensive designed to increase security ahead of Afghan elections next month.
So far, 184 UK service personnel have now died in Afghanistan since 2001 - more than the 179 who were killed during the war in Iraq.