Big defence cuts are to be announced this week by the Ministry of Defence as part of an attempt to shift resources to the front line in Afghanistan.
News of the cuts came as Gordon Brown left Afghanistan after becoming the first British prime minister to stay overnight in a war zone since the second world war.
Brown slept in simple quarters at the Kandahar air base, the headquarters of Nato troops in the south of the country before meeting President Hamid Karzai.
It has become traditional for the British prime minister to visit UK troops in either Afghanistan or Iraq ahead of Christmas. Brown's talks with Karzai included discussions for a wide-ranging international conference on the future of Afghanistan in London on 28 January.
The cuts are expected to include the closure of some bases, cuts in civilian staff, and a commitment to improve procurement in line with a report commissioned by the government from Bernard Grey, a defence specialist. It had been intended the cuts would have been announced in the pre-budget report last week, but the talks were not completed in time.
The cuts are designed to release extra cash for the troops in Afghanistan, including possibly new helicopter equipment.
By: Brant
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