Gordon Brown told British soldiers serving in Afghanistan yesterday that their achievements surpassed even those of the country’s Olympic stars in China.

The Prime Minister went to Camp Bastion, Britain’s biggest base in the war-torn country and told the Forces that they were heroes every day of the week and showed the same dedication, professionalism and courage as the triumphant Olympic competitors.

But Mr Brown, who hopes that the Olympic glow and his immediate appearance on the world stage will help his political relaunch, found himself being dogged by questions about his leadership troubles. At a press conference in Kabul with President Karzai, the questioning from British reporters was dominated by his relations with the Cabinet, particularly David Miliband and Labour’s summer turmoil.

Mr Karzai looked on as Mr Brown, clearly irritated that the questions were not about the British mission in Afghanistan, maintained his insistence that the British people were looking to him to get on with the job and deal with their fuel, food and mortgage problems. At one point Mr Karzai, trying to be helpful, joked: “Cabinet ministers plotting is nothing new. We have them here too.”

Earlier Mr Brown addressed 300 soldiers in the 39C (102F) heat, telling them that the whole country owed them a debt of gratitude. He said that the reputation of the British Forces for professionalism had been enhanced by their mission.

He said: “I know you are on the frontline in the fight against the Taleban. What you are doing here prevents terrorism coming to the streets of Britain. You know that by taking on the Taleban and forcing them back you have made possible democracy here.”

There are about 5,000 British soldiers and 3,000 members of the Afghan National Army in Task Force Helmand under the umbrella of 16 Air Assault Brigade. Soldiers from 2 Para, 3 Para, 5th Royal Scots and the Royal Irish waited patiently for Mr Brown to arrive. They appeared in a subdued mood after the death this week of ten French soldiers in an ambush, as well as that of their colleague Corporal Barry Dempsey, from the Royal Highland Fusiliers, after his unit was hit by an explosive device.

Mr Brown paid tribute to Corporal Dempsey but insisted throughout the day that commanders had told him that the morale of British troops was good. He told them that by helping to train the Afghan Army they were helping reconstruction and giving the local people a stake in their own future.

The Prime Minister said he knew that many of them had been following the British successes in Beijing. He went on: “I believe that our Olympic athletes and everybody else in our country will remember that you showed exactly the same courage and dedication. But you make our country proud every day of the week, every week of the year. You are truly the heroes of our country.”

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