Last UK troops leave Afghanistan

The last UK combat troops have left Camp Bastion in a huge airlift operation marking the final chapter in the 13-year Afghanistan conflict.

Waves of dozens of helicopters and Hercules transport aircraft took part in the tactical withdrawal from the base in Helmand province.

Allied forces handed the base over to Afghan officials in a poignant ceremony yesterday as the Union flag and Stars and Stripes were lowered for the final time.

Prime Minister David Cameron said Britain will “never forget those who made the ultimate sacrifice” – with the vast majority of the UK’s 453 casualties having lost their lives in the fight against the Taliban insurgency in Helmand.

Labour leader Ed Miliband said: “The handover of Camp Bastion is a time to remember those who have served Britain so courageously in Afghanistan over the last decade.”

But former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott, who was in the Cabinet that sent British troops to Afghanistan, questioned whether the results “justified the heavy loss of lives”.

At the peak of the Afghan conflict there were 10,000 British personnel in Helmand together with 20,000 US Marines, Danes, Estonians and other nationalities at 180 bases and checkpoints.