Britain will need to stay in Afghanistan for "decades" to fight terrorism and pull the country out of poverty, the UK's new ambassador to Kabul said today.

Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, who has been in his post for six weeks, said efforts to stabilise and rebuild the war-torn country would have to be a "marathon rather than a sprint".

In an interview this morning the ambassador, considered one of Britain's biggest diplomatic heavyweights, admitted that the UK should have stepped up its development and regeneration efforts in Afghanistan earlier.

“The task of standing up a government of Afghanistan that is sustainable is going to take a very long time,” Sir Sherard told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme today. “It’s a marathon rather than a sprint. We should be thinking in terms of decades.”

He insisted: “We’re not (talking) about a long-term military presence but we’re serious about a long-term development presence, because this country does matter to us and to the region in so many ways.”

The British embassy in Kabul has been expanded significantly over recent months, with the appointment of Sir Sherard the centrepiece of the reshuffle. There is speculation that it could become the biggest foreign diplomatic outpost in Kabul as the UK tries to emphasise its commitment to the security and regeneration of Afghanistan.

In an apparent swipe at development efforts made so far, Sir Sherard added: “Maybe we should have raised our game earlier, but now we have."

He insisted that although the Nato forces had been responsible for some civilian casualties, most Afghans “want us here”.

“Their worry is not about us staying. It’s about us going,” he added. “The great thing about the Taleban is that they haven’t been reading their Chairman Mao. They don’t have popular support.”

Sir Sherard is considered one of the Foreign Office's biggest hitters, with crucial strategic ambassadorial postings in Israel and Saudi Arabia having been completed over the last five years.

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