Clegg optimistic on Afghanistan visit

The Deputy Prime Minister said British forces had "created the space" in which a political settlement could be reached with elements of the Taliban who were prepared to renounce violence.

But he also made clear there would be no extension to the coalition's 2015 deadline for all British combat troops to be pulled out.

Mr Clegg was speaking at the Camp Bastion base yesterday after spending Monday night and yesterday in volatile southern Helmand province.

He praised the "bravery and professionalism" of the UK's 10,000-plus force, stressing how much the situation had improved since his only previous visit in 2008.

"We hear so much bad news," he told a group of around 50 troops training in a mocked-up Afghan village.

"Of course the country mourns when people lose their lives. People are full of anguish when there are serious injuries. But what I have seen today is a complete transformation of the military effort that I first saw when I visited two years ago.

"When I was here two years ago there were arguments about equipment, there were doubts about whether we had sufficient people and resources. There was real concern over whether we had the right strategy.

"But now two years later – I was in Nad-i-Ali this morning, two years ago we barely had a footprint there.

"Now the district governor's telling me he knows of young Taliban fighters putting down their arms to participate in a peaceful life. I think you are turning the corner, and what you are doing is you're creating the space for Afghan society to find its own feet.

"And that's the only way we're going to have stability, the only way we're going to have the kind of stability Afghanistan needs but (also) the safety of our families, our communities back home."

Mr Clegg, MP for Sheffield Hallam, hinted at the need for more contacts with Taliban elements.

Speaking to journalists after his address, Mr Clegg dodged questions about whether military advisers believed the situation could be resolved by 2015.

"This is not something you do overnight, but we have got five years to do this right," he said.

"We have been very clear, we have put a full stop at the end of our engagement."