GORDON Brown welcomed an agreement with the other Nato countries to boost troop numbers in Afghanistan.

Speaking at the end of the Nato alliance’s 60th anniversary summit in Strasborg the Prime Minister announced a wider effort from its member nations in tackling the Taliban.

US president Barack Obama had used the talks to urge Europe to commit more troops to the conflict to safeguard upcoming elections in the country.

As a result the UK will send 900 more troops, with 600 from both Germany and Spain, while additional support is expected to come from Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Poland, Turkey and Croatia.

They will join around 70,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan and a further 21,000 troops being deployed by America.

Gordon Brown said: “We are working to build a successful democratic Afghanistan and that will mean that our streets will be safer in Britain.

“With important presidential elections to come in the next few months, we must not allow the Taliban to disrupt the democratic process.

“Britain is therefore prepared to send additional troops as part of a wider Nato effort to strengthen security over the summer and until the elections as well as to ensure that our forces are properly protected from the growing threat of roadside bombs.”

He went on: “I am pleased to say that a large number of countries have announced that they will provide additional support: Spain, the have joined Germany who have already made similar announcements.

“That means that burden sharing over these next few critical months is a reality.”

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said that France and Italy would also be committing fresh forces.

The day’s talks started with a symbolic gesture of unity, as leaders crossed the bridge over the Rhine from Germany to France, but were later marred by violent protests throughout the city.

Around 20,000 demonstrators staged anti-Nato protests, in which a hotel and customs house were set alight, sending plumes of smoke over the city, while police deployed tear-gas to disperse mobs.

The summit also saw the selection of Danish PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen as the new Nato chief to replace Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

Turkey had originally protested his appointment, due to what they saw as Rasmussen’s anti-Islamic stance over the cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammed in 2005, however withdrew their opposition following undisclosed assurances from President Obama.

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