Gordon Brown will try to rally faltering public support for the war against the Taleban today, as ministers insist that sending more troops would not cut British casualties in Afghanistan.

The Prime Minister said yesterday that the offensive was gaining ground, despite the loss of eight soldiers in one 24-hour period last week. While the Government promised that money would be found for equipment, ministers denied that a lack of troops was behind the growing death toll.There are 9,000 servicemen in Afghanistan but that will drop to 8,300 after the presidential elections next month.

A senior government source said: “We are losing more men because we are taking the fight to the Taleban and more troops are being put in harm’s way. But it is just not true to say that fewer would be killed if more were there. The opposite could be true. Many of our men have been killed by roadside bombs. Having more there would not prevent that happening.”

General Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank, former Chief of the Defence Staff, has accused the Treasury of being unsympathetic to the war and called for more troops. His views echo those of General Sir Richard Dannatt, the outgoing Chief of the General Staff, who asked in March for at least 2,000 more troops. General Sir David Richards, who will succeed General Dannatt next month, is also in favour of sending reinforcements. However, the Ministry of Defence insisted that the brigade commander in Helmand had not requested more men.

Cabinet insiders say that while there has been no opposition from ministers to the mission, some believe that its purpose could have been better explained. Mr Brown is expected to use his Commons statement on the G8 summit today to say that the case for involvement in Afghanistan is the same as it was in 2001 — to take on the terrorist threat at source and prevent attacks in Britain and elsewhere.

Lord King of Bridgwater, a former Conservative Defence Secretary, became the latest figure to criticise the conduct of the campaign, saying that serious political mistakes had been made by the Government. There had never been enough troops on the ground and the force was suffering from a critical shortage of helicopters. But Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, insisted that troops would get whatever equipment they needed.

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