Brown in surprise Afghan visit

Gordon Brown has paid a surprise visit to UK troops in Afghanistan on the way to the Olympics in Beijing. Addressing members of 16 Air Assault Brigade at Camp Bastion in Helmand, the prime minister compared their efforts against the Taliban to the exploits of British gold medallists in China: "I believe that our Olympic athletes and everybody else in our country will remember that you have showed exactly the same courage, professionalism and dedication... You are truly the heroes of our country. I wish to say how proud I am of you today." Later at a joint press conference with Afghan president Hamid Karzai, Brown promised more resources to train the Afghan army, which he said may need to be doubled in size to 120,000 soldiers. He also promised £17m to fund a radio station to counter the Taliban's message. Yesterday three Nato troops were killed when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb.