Cameron arrives in Kabul

Tory leader David Cameron has flown into Kabul for a two-day fact-finding visit to war-torn Afghanistan.

Mr Cameron will meet key figures in the Afghan capital as well as visiting British troops fighting the Taliban in the southern province of Helmand.

Aides said he wanted to see for himself how the international mission was progressing as well as demonstrating his support for UK forces.

The trip comes after he was heavily criticised only last week for going ahead with a visit to Rwanda while his Witney constituency in Oxfordshire was hit by severe floods.

While this visit is likely to prove less controversial, it still comes against a background of discontent within Tory ranks fuelled by poor by-election results and a slump in opinion poll ratings.

Mr Cameron has hit back at critics who have been calling for a return to a more traditional Tory agenda - focusing on issues like tax cuts and immigration - insisting that he will not be deflected from his programme of party modernisation.

He had originally planned a longer trip, taking in Pakistan, but aides said that that leg had to be cancelled at the last minute due to concerns about the volatile political and security situation.

Mr Cameron said: "I came a year ago and I wanted to come again to see the progress that is being made both in terms of the political process in Kabul and the valuable work that our troops are doing in Helmand.

"It is vital work and it is vital that we succeed in helping the democratic government of Afghanistan."

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