British Commandos in Afghanistan were not engaged in "a policing role" and would ensure Osama bin Laden was brought to justice, the Foreign Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, stressed yesterday.
The 100 Royal Marines troops of the Special Boat Service will secure the area around Bagram airport, north of Kabul, for humanitarian missions and are also expected to clear the ground for the deployment of up to 4,000 British troops on 48-hour standby.
As the US Defence Secretary, Mr Donald Rumsfeld, confirmed US ground troops were engaged in combat with Taliban fighters, the Prime Minister's spokesman said one of the key roles for British forces was "reconnoitre and reconnaissance" for possible future deployment of troops.
The military campaign was not unfolding "like a Stephen Spielberg script," the spokesman said, but Britain was prepared to deal with a shifting military situation: "There is a lot more to do but there is a lot of activity going to drive that forward." Mr Straw pledged British forces would not be drawn into a "full scale military civil war" in Afghanistan.