Afghan election 'unlikely to be free and fair'

Mr Miliband said yesterday that the standards applied to elections in western democracies could not be demanded of Afghanistan, where the most that could be expected of the September 18 polls was that they would "credibly represent" the views of the people.

Giving evidence on Afghanistan to House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday, Mr Miliband indicated that there would be "consequences" for the Afghan President in terms of the co-operation he could expect from the international community if he failed to live up to promises to tackle fraud and corruption made at last year's London Conference.