Brown accused of ignoring Army as death toll in Afghanistan hits 220

The death toll of British forces in Afghanistan hit 220 today as Gordon Brown was accused by a former general of leaving troops to fight with "part of one arm" tied behind their back.

General Sir Richard Dannatt, who retired as head of the Army in August, confirmed suspicions that a plea for 2,000 extra troops had been rejected this year.

It came as the Ministry of Defence said that a soldier from 1st Battalion The Grenadier Guards was killed in southern Afghanistan yesterday morning. The soldier, who has not been named, was on foot patrol near Nad Ali in central Helmand when he was caught in an explosion. Next-of-kin have been informed.

Downing Street has repeatedly denied that the Prime Minister rejected requests for reinforcements. But General Dannatt said in an interview today: "Military advice has been for an uplift since the beginning of 2009.

"If you're going to conduct an operation, you're doing it for a reason: to succeed. Don't let's do it with at least part of one arm tied behind one's back."

He added: "If the military says we need more troops and we can supply them, then frankly they should take that advice."

There are about 9,000 UK troops in Afghanistan as part of the Nato force. Sir Richard said he left office "convinced" that Mr Brown was ready to commit to action. The Government is this week expected to consider deploying more troops.