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UK commanders were keen to redeploy Army troops leaving Iraq to Afghanistan because of fears they would be cut if they were not used, it is claimed.

Former envoy to Kabul Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles told MPs he was told by ex-Army head Sir Richard Dannatt the conflict gave them a "raison d'etre".

But Sir Richard has strongly denied the claims, calling them "somewhere between misjudged and mischievous".

The MoD said UK forces were deployed for "one very clear reason".

A spokesman said UK national security was the only motivation for sending troops to the country. - BBC