Army chief: I have to borrow a helicopter from Americans

Britain's most senior general went public today with a plea for more troops, equipment and helicopters to fight the war in Afghanistan.

In a revelation that will deeply embarrass Treasury ministers, General Sir Richard Dannatt said he was having to borrow a Black Hawk helicopter from US forces because there were not enough British machines.

Making his final tour of the battlefields before standing down as Chief of the General Staff, he said: "Self evidently, if I move in an American helicopter it is because I have not got a British helicopter."

He said that the Army needed more "boots on the ground" to secure areas and win the confidence of the Afghan population.

"I don't mind whether those feet in those boots are British, American or Afghan," he said. "But we need more to have the persistent effect to give the people confidence in us. That's the top line and bottom line."

Sir Richard also criticised the slow pace of bringing in new equipment. "We are building our resources up in terms of equipment," he said. "It's probably not moved as fast as I would have liked it to have moved. But we are increasing the numbers.

"I would like to get more energy behind it if we possibly can."

Sir Richard, who is meeting troops on the frontline in Afghanistan, told BBC radio that British and American forces shared a pool of helicopters but he made clear that Britain was not putting enough in to meet its needs.

"There's a pool and we share the assets. But we have got to put as much into the pool as we need to take out of it," he said.

The general said that travelling in an American helicopter was "part of the wider issue", adding: "We are trying to broaden and widen our effect here, which is about people, it is about equipment and yes, of course, it's about helicopters as well."

Asked if David Cameron was correct to call the lack of helicopters "scandalous", he said: "I don't want to get into whether the Conservatives are right or not... but air mobility is a key enabler and I know the commanders need a lot of that."

General Dannatt said the "mark of success" was allowing Afghans to return to a normal life by providing security. But British deaths and injuries could not be avoided.

"It is a sad fact and part of the reality of this campaign that over the years every successive brigade that deployed has taken casualties," he said. "When you push, inevitably there is a prospect of taking casualties."

Ministers were furious at reports that Sir Richard met Tory MPs last week and briefed them privately that 2,000 more troops were needed.

It was claimed that Gordon Brown rejected a request made in March for the extra soldiers. No 10 denied, however, that any troops were refused on cost grounds and the head of the Armed Forces, Sir Jock Stirrup, has insisted that the current Afghanistan operation has all the troops and equipment needed.