Frontline troops get allowance rise

The Prime Minister, on his first visit to the country since being elected, told troops at the main UK base at Camp Bastion in Helmand he was determined to support the armed forces.

Addressing them in the midst of a sandstorm, he said the Government would "rewrite and republish" the military covenant setting out the country's obligations to its fighting men and women.

And there were cheers as he announced his promised doubling of the operational allowance for troops on operations overseas would go ahead next month, backdated to May 6, the date of the general election.

"I want to put you front and centre of national life again," he said. "I want you to help me create a new atmosphere in our country, an atmosphere where we back and revere and support our military.

"What you are doing here will never be forgotten, it is great and important work. You are incredibly brave and professional in what you do.

"I stand here as your Prime Minister, wanting to tell you from the bottom of my heart that you should be proud of yourselves and what you do because your country is incredibly proud of you."

The Prime Minister said he was also determined to give the forces a clear sense of mission about why they were in Afghanistan.

"I can sum up this mission in two words – national security, our national security back in the UK. We don't have some dreamy ideas about what this mission is about, it is about that, pure and simple."