‘More than 450 Brits never returned’: No10 rebukes US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth for mocking contribution of allied troops in Afghanistan

DAILYMAIL.COM • 2h ago

By JAMES TAPSFIELD, UK POLITICAL EDITOR 13:07 19 Oct 2026, updated 13:52 19 Oct 2026

No10 has rebuked US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth for playing down the contribution of allied troops in Afghanistan.

Mr Hegseth used a speech to cadets recently to claim that ‘maybe five’ countries played a role in the fighting, and by the end of the campaign it was only ‘one or two’.

He joked that the ISAF patch meant ‘I Saw Americans Fighting’ instead of International Security Assistance Force.

However, Andy Burnham’s official spokesman said today that it was ‘wrong’ to diminish the ‘sacrifices’ of Nato.

The spokesman said: ‘Look, frankly, the facts speak for themselves when it comes to the UK’s and Nato’s contribution to Afghanistan, thousands of British and allied families made huge sacrifices to play their significant parts in that war and uphold our values.

‘And more than 450 British personnel never returned. Their sacrifice and that of other Nato forces was made in the service of collective security and in response to an attack on our ally.

‘We are incredibly proud of our armed forces and their service and sacrifice will never be forgotten, and it is wrong to diminish their role.’

Footage of Mr Hegseth’s remarks has been causing anger as it circulates on social media.

The US Secretary of War said: ‘I was a captain in Afghanistan, and we would go to the headquarters in Kabul, and there would be 50 flags at the headquarters.

‘It was a beautiful thing to see 50 different countries contributing to the NATO alliance and the ISAF mission there.

‘Except there were like maybe five that contributed. It was actually closer to one or two that, by the end, were actually involved in kinetic operations.

‘In fact the patch ”ISAF”, we joked it meant ”I Saw Americans Fighting”. Which is sort of a joke but it’s demoralising when you feel like it’s not burden sharing, it’s actually a burden.’

A community note added to the footage on X pointed out that more than 1,100 non-American soldiers from 31 US-allied countries were killed fighting in Afghanistan – around a third of the total combat deaths.

Polish deputy PM Radosław Sikorski replied: ‘Tell that… to the families of 44 Polish soldiers who died securing the tough Ghazni province.’

It is not the first time the UK has clashed with the Trump administration over the Afghan conflict, which came after Nato’s Article 5 mutual defence provision was triggered for the first time in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the US.

US president Mr Trump’s suggestion Nato allied troops ‘stayed a little off the front lines’ in Afghanistan resulted in a furious backlash across the alliance, with then prime minister Sir Keir Starmer describing the comments as ‘insulting and frankly appalling’.

Meanwhile Mr Trump’s decision to import diesel from Russia and his suggestion Volodymyr Zelensky should be replaced as Ukraine’s leader have contributed to another low point in relations between Washington and European capitals.

The Prime Minister’s spokesman said: ‘Russia should be in no doubt about the resolve of this government to stand against Russian aggression in Ukraine and against the UK and our allies.

‘And we stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression and to defend itself against Russian attacks.’

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