[UK PM] Gordon Brown suffers shock Government resignation over Afghanistan

The Telegraph ^ | 9/3/2009 | Andrew Porter

[bruinbirdman]

Eric Joyce, an aide to the Defence Secretary, walked out in protest at the way the Prime Minister was handling the war in Afghanistan.

It came as Mr Brown prepared for a major speech today in which he will re-state Britain’s mission in Afghanistan against a backdrop of growing public disillusionment with the conflict.

Mr Joyce, a former army major who was parliamentary private secretary to Bob Ainsworth, the Defence Secretary, used his resignation letter to direct a series of damning accusations against the Prime Minister.

He warned Mr Brown that the public were growing weary of his claim that the war in Afghanistan was being fought to protect Britons from terrorism at home. And yet that is exactly the message Mr Brown will re-iterate in his speech on Friday.

Mr Joyce said: “I do not think the public will accept for much longer that our losses can be justified by simply referring to risk of greater terrorism on our streets. Nor do I think we can continue with the present level of uncertainty about the future of our deployment in Afghanistan.”

He also attacked the way some senior service chiefs have been targeted by Labour ministers. Gen Sir Richard Dannatt was the victim of Labour smears just before he stood down from his role as head of Army.

Mr Joyce said: “Behind the hand attacks by any Labour figure on senior service personnel are now, to the public, indistinguishable from attacks on the services themselves.

“We must make it clear to every serviceman and woman, their families and the British public, that we give their well-being the highest political priority.”

He added that Labour would lose the election if it did not look as if the party cared about defence and got a “grip” on the issue.

He said: