Nato today failed to find any volunteers to contribute 2,500 reinforcements needed for combat duty in Afghanistan.

After two days of talks in Portoroz, Slovenia, defence ministers from the 26-nation alliance said that no one had produced the reserve force, first requested by Nato commanders more than three weeks ago.

Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, asked Nato colleagues to "step up to the plate" to help American, British, Canadian and Dutch forces currently engaged in fierce fighting with the Taleban in southern Afghanistan.

"There was no offer of more troops. There were some encouraging signs but it is unlikely anything will be decided until our next meeting in Riga in November," said a British official at the talks.

Although Britain has not ruled out sending more forces itself, it currently has more than 5,000 troops in Afghanistan and is still deploying reinforcements pledged in the summer.

Mr Browne denied a report that senior officers had urged the Government to withdraw remaining British forces from Iraq and to concentrate instead on winning the war in Afghanistan.

"It is not true that senior military officers have been pressing the Government to withdraw British troops from Iraq, that’s not the case," he told BBC Radio.

He also denied that splits had occurred at the Ministry of Defence over the conduct of the two operations.

"There is no division between us and military commanders about what we are doing at the moment and we are doing a very good job there and we ought to be enormously proud of our troops there," he said.

Britain has 7,200 troops in Iraq, concentrated in two southern provinces. British officials said that they hoped to hand over control of one province, Maysan, by the end of the year leaving a British forces in and around the main city of Basra.

But it is unlikely that all troops would be withdrawn until the Iraqi army and police are strong enough to take over responsibility for security, a process that could take years.

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