Afghanistan row: Downing Street hits back at Pete Hegseth after ‘diminishing role’ of Britain

“It was a beautiful thing to see, 50 different countries contributing to the Nato alliance and the mission there.

“Except there were maybe five that contributed, it was actually closer to one or two that by the end were actually involved in kinetic operations.”

Hitting back at the remarks, Downing Street said it is “wrong” to “diminish the role” of British armed forces in the Afghanistan war.

Asked about the US Defence Secretary’s remarks, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “Look, frankly, the facts speak for themselves when it comes to the UK’s and Nato’s contribution to Afghanistan.