Speaking to troops in Helmand province in the south of the country, Mr Brown said that defeating the Taliban was an important part of tackling terrorism and would also "give strength" to Afghanistan's new democracy. Mr Brown praised British troops for their "huge bravery in very difficult circumstances":

"I want to thank all those who have been injured for their service, and I want to remember those who have given their lives in the service of our country, and particularly Jack and Lee, the two men who have died recently, for what they have done and what they have achieved," Mr Brown said.

"When I talk about the professionalism of the British armed forces and what you have done, everywhere I go round the world it is recognised that you are the most professional, that you are the most dedicated, that you are the most professional service, recognised in every continent. And when I speak of courage I speak of ... here who have shown huge bravery in very difficult circumstances.

"I know this weekend in Musa Qaleh, some of you here, many of you who are not here who are up there, have been doing a very important job in clearing the Taliban from that area. And I know that the work you are doing today and in the next few days is important for the whole mission in Afghanistan and I believe that if we can succeed there, as we will, if we can work with the Afghan forces, then we can move forward events in Afghanistan in favour of a more peaceful future for this country."

The Prime Minister's address, given to troops in Camp Bastion in Helmand province, came as UK troops joined with Afghan soldiers in a major offensive in the town of Musa Qaleh.

"I want to thank every one of you for what you have done in what is the front line against the Taliban," the prime Minister added. "Because this is one of the most challenging of environments, it is one of the most difficult of tasks, it is the most testing of times and it is one of the most important of missions because to win here and to defeat to defeat the Taliban and to make sure that we can give strength to the new democracy of Afghanistan is important in defeating terrorism all round the world.

"We are so proud of what you are doing and I am privileged to say today that the whole of Britain is proud of what you are doing."

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The Prime Minister's meeting with UK follows a visit by Defence secretary Des Browne this weekend. During an interview on BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend Mr Browne pointed to a number of early successes during the ongoing operation in Musa Qaleh:

"This is a very important operation. President Karzai himself and his Government have made it very clear for sometime now that when the time was right they would mount, support an operation to relieve the people of Musa Qaleh from the yoke of the Taleban and the other insurgents who occupy their town.

"The people want rid of this scourge, the time is now right that’s why this Afghan-led initiative is taking place. It’s a very important battle and it’s supported by ISAF troops including UK troops but the Afghans are in the lead. You wouldn’t want me to go in to the detail of it blow by blow but there have in the early stages of this operation been some very significant successes."

Mr Browne added that the ISAF mission in Afghanistan is going well but that challenges still lie ahead:

"This is going to be a long term project," he said. "In fact the ISAF commitment across the whole country is only just twelve months old and from my point of view and my own observations in five visits over eighteen months to this country we’ve seen some significant progress in those eighteen months.

"There’s still a lot of challenges, I understand that, and the insurgency is still strong in parts but everywhere that we have met it we have overmatched it. I believe that over this winter again we will see another significant shift in our ability to be able to create security which I hope the Afghans can then take advantage of."