Brown to confirm extra troops for Afghanistan

Gordon Brown is set to outline plans to send an extra 500 troops to Afghanistan later.

The prime minister will set out the next stage of the ongoing campaign in a statement to MPs, following the announcement that there is now sufficient equipment to send the extra troops.

Mr Brown last month agreed 'in principle' to the reinforcements but only if several conditions were met, including greater training for Afghan forces, adequate equipment and if there was a commitment by the rest of the coalition to bear its "fair share".

The statement comes a day before US president Barack Obama delivers his long-awaited decision of whether to send an extra 40,000 troops into Afghanistan at the request of his top military commander in the country.

At the weekend, Mr Brown announced an international conference will be held in London on January 28th for discussions on the gradual handing of provinces back to Afghan control.

The decision on extra troops comes as the Ministry of Defence confirmed the recently-arrived Merlin helicopters have been given the green light for operations, a month ahead of schedule.