A recording of Gordon Brown's telephone conversation with the mother of a dead British soldier was released today after he called her about a misspelt letter of condolence.

The Prime Minister was confronted with accusations that he had failed British troops in Afghanistan in the 13-minute conversation with Jacqui Janes.

He was said to have been “mortified” when told of Mrs Janes’s distress over spelling errors in a hand-written letter of condolence, including her surname and the first name of her son, Jamie. He immediately arranged the call to apologise.

Mrs Janes, from Hove in East Sussex, took Mr Brown to task, telling him that her son could have survived his injuries but bled to death, according to a transcript published today in The Sun newspaper.

“Mr Brown, listen to me,” she said. “I know every injury my child sustained that day. I know that my son could have survived but my son bled to death.

“How would you like it if one of your children, God forbid, went to a war doing something that he thought, where he was helping protect his Queen and country and because of lack, lack of helicopters, lack of equipment, your child bled to death and then you had the coroner have to tell you his every injury?”

Mr Brown said that he understood, but he had his own strong feelings on the issue and wanted to offer his condolences, rather than engage in a political debate.

At one point in the conversation, Mrs Janes said: “I can not believe I have been brought down to the level of having an argument with the Prime Minister of my own country.”

Mr Brown denied spelling the name of Mrs Janes’s son’s wrong and blamed his poor handwriting rather than his spelling. She told him: “I beg to differ” and insisted that he had made no fewer than 25 spelling mistakes.

The transcript of the conversation suggests that Mr Brown was surprised by the vehemence of Mrs Janes's criticisms.

Repeatedly she deflected his attempts to pass on his condolences to talk about equipment shortages in the field, such as the fact that Merlin helicopters used in Iraq had not yet been sent to Afghanistan.

At one point Mr Brown said to the grieving mother: "If you feel strongly that I've done you wrong then that's for you to decide but I want to assure you that there was never any intention on my part to do anything other than pass on my condolences to you and to your your, your family, understanding that you are a military family and that you have given great service as a family to our country.

"I'm sorry that I have been unable to persuade you of that but that is how I feel, that is that is how I feel."

She replied: "Right, can I now just say how I feel?

Mr Brown: "Yes please."

Mrs Janes: "Many many years ago, in 18-something, somebody said the biggest enemy of our Army was our Treasury ... they were so right."

Mr Brown: " I, I..."

Mrs Janes: "Even to this day.."

Mr Brown: "I, I..."

Mrs Janes: "Mr Brown, to this day, I know as fact helping my sons buy equipment themselves before they go to war, I know of every mother, the letters I have received off mothers whose sons have been killed, in Iraq, in Afghanistan, you know, friends of mine that were killed in Northern Ireland.

"I know that our Government are letting our troops down, big time."

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