- Downing Street has rejected claims by US defence secretary Pete Hegseth after he played down the contribution of British armed forces during the war in Afghanistan.
- A spokesperson for No 10 stated it was wrong to diminish the role of British troops, emphasising that the facts of UK and Nato sacrifices speak for themselves.
- Mr Hegseth had suggested to US army cadets that only maybe five countries contributed to the conflict, with only one or two involved in actual fighting.
- More than 450 British personnel died during the conflict, representing the second-highest number of fatalities behind the United States.
- The comments follow a similar controversy earlier this year when Donald Trump faced backlash for falsely claiming Nato allies stayed off the front lines.
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