PM in Christmas message to troops

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has sent Christmas greetings to British troops in Afghanistan
12 April 2012

Gordon Brown has sent Christmas greetings to British troops in Afghanistan and told them he would have liked to play Santa by bringing them presents on his recent trip to the country.

On the day of the 103rd service death of 2009 in Afghanistan, Mr Brown praised the "unsurpassed" courage of British troops and told them he recognised that this year had "tested your resolve more than any other".

The Prime Minister also spoke of his "gratitude" to the service personnel who have lost their lives, telling the Sunday Mirror: "We owe them a debt we can never fully repay - and we remember too the families they have left behind for whom Christmas will be a heartbreaking time."

The Duke of York too paid tribute to UK troops during a 24-hour visit to Camp Bastion in Helmand province to meet personnel from the Fleet Air Arm, of which he is Commodore-in-Chief.

Writing in the News of the World, Prince Andrew - who himself saw action as a helicopter pilot in the Falklands War - praised the "resilience, determination and spirit" shown by British troops in Afghanistan.

"I have some previous experience of armed conflict; but to hear of the almost daily heroism by virtually everyone, military or civilian, is so completely different from anything I experienced," said the Duke.

And he added: "Uppermost in my thoughts are the families of those who have lost loved ones during this year; their loss is incredibly hard to bear and incomprehensible to most of us and my prayers go out to them.

"We must also not forget the families of those currently deployed in Afghanistan who are separated from their loved ones. Whatever we may think, these young men and women are laying their lives on the line every day they are here. We should support them in any way we can."

Mr Brown's Christmas message came as the Sunday Mirror delivered presents donated by readers to the troops in Afghanistan.

The Prime Minister joked: "I had wanted to bring all your cards and presents with me then, but there's no way I could have carried them all. And I'm sure as you unwrap them you will find that they have come from individuals who you will never know or ever meet. Such a huge outpouring of appreciation is a reflection of the high esteem in which you are held by the British people."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in