Dead British soldiers named in wake of attack by 'rogue' Afghan policeman

Military figures said today that security problems were rife in the Afghan police in the wake of a bloody attack by one "rogue" recruit which claimed five lives.

Warrant Officer First Class Darren Chant, Sergeant Matthew Telford and Guardsman James Major from the Grenadier Guards died alongside Acting Corporal Steven Boote and Corporal Nicholas Webster-Smith from the Royal Military Police.

Captain Doug Beattie, who mentored Afghan soldiers and police officers in Helmand in 2006/7, told The Guardian: "Whether people will admit this openly or not, it is a fact that the Afghan police have been infiltrated at every level by the insurgency."

An unnamed soldier wrote a piece for the Independent saying he was "not surprised" by the attack.

He said of the police recruits: "Most of them were corrupt and took drugs, particularly opium. The lads would go into police stations at night and they would be stoned; sometimes they would fire indiscriminately at nothing.

"There were no security checks - they were literally allowed to come into the compound and we had to rely on the local chief of police, who recruited them. We kept a close eye on them because we didn't know or trust them - it was for our own security."

But former soldier and Chairman of the Commons Sub-Committee on Counter-Terrorism Patrick Mercer said the training programme must continue.

He told the Press Association: "If you risk using indigenous forces and you risk sending small numbers of troops to isolated areas to work with them these sorts of things are going to happen. It's relatively unusual but this particular strike by the enemy has been particularly bloody.

"I just don't see what the alternative is. We could as an alliance down tools, but that would made a complete mockery of the strategy in Afghanistan. We have to train up forces and police to take the place of the Western forces that are there now. It's the only game in town. This is a tragedy but it is isolated."

Writing in the Independent, former commander of the Royal Marines Major General Julian Thompson said that it was "very worrying" that the murders were carried out by an Afghan policeman.

But he said: "The plain fact is that the only viable exit strategy involves preparing the Afghan security forces for taking over from us. We should only be there until this is done and then we must leave the Afghan forces to look after security in their own country."

Maj Gen Thompson went on: "What happened in Nad-e'Ali must seem like a terrible betrayal. However, difficult as it is, they have to carry on. We do not have an indefinite timeframe in Afghanistan and patience will wear thin unless tangible progress is made.

"But this is not Iraq, and there are good, valid reasons for the West to have a presence in the country. For the time being, we need to carry on."

The five men died in the Nad-e'Ali district of Helmand on Tuesday, in an attack which injured another six British soldiers and two Afghan policemen.

Sgt Telford's uncle William Ferrand told the BBC: "It was his job and he absolutely loved it. Everybody knows what a wonderful lad he was. It has devastated all of us."

The British soldiers had been living and working at the police checkpoint for about a fortnight as part of a team mentoring Afghan National Police officers.

Training is being given to the army and police there to build up security so that international forces can eventually withdraw.

Former soldier Lord Ashdown voiced concerns that public support for the war in Afghanistan will now falter.

He wrote in The Times: "There is now a real chance that we will lose this struggle in the bars and front-rooms of Britain before we lose it in the deserts and mountains of Afghanistan."

British troops are thought to be involved in a manhunt for the assassin named by tribal elders as Taliban member Gulbuddin.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown paid tribute to the soldiers describing their deaths as a "terrible loss".

He promised to press on with the strategy of training Afghan soldiers and police.

Mr Brown told the House of Commons: "It appears that they were targeted because they were engaged in what our enemies fear most - they were mentoring and strengthening Afghan forces to make Afghanistan more secure."

The men's deaths make this the bloodiest year for the Armed Forces since the Falklands War.

The death toll in Afghanistan since the conflict began in 2001 now stands at 229.

British commanders and ministers have repeatedly spoken of the vital importance of training Afghan soldiers and police to take over security operations from coalition forces.

In a major policy speech in November, Mr Brown said: "To reach the point where international forces can return home, we must place a greater emphasis on building up the Afghan army and police."

The Ministry of Defence named the men last night and further details are expected to be released today.

The Conservatives dismissed growing calls for troops to be pulled out of Afghanistan.

Shadow foreign secretary William Hague told BBC Breakfast: "My view is that what we are there to do is help Afghans govern themselves without being a threat to the rest of the world including ourselves.

"That is what we have to persist in because the consequences of walking away... for our own security would be very serious indeed.

"There is a lot to be done and we should be very worried about the situation but we should not pull out now."

Armed Forces Minister Bill Rammell told GMTV that troops needed to continue to work with Afghan police in order to reach a point where they could withdraw.

"We believe that we are right to be in Afghanistan. If you look back at the country in 2001 there were huge numbers of terrorists operating there targeting this country, and were we and other countries to withdraw undoubtedly the Taliban would come back."

He said that a withdrawal would result in, "mass instability" and compromise the security of this country.

"I agree this is extraordinarily difficult."

"There are vetting procedures that are in place and we are constantly working with the Afghan police but this is a country where there are few criminal records, a fledgling democracy. We do believe that the approach of partnering, mentoring and training has to be the right approach because its about building Afghan capacity. We do not want our troops to be there forever and a day."