Gordon Brown emotionally insisted today that he understood the grief and pain that Jacqui Janes and other bereaved families were going through.

Reacting to the controversy over a misspelt letter of condolence, the Prime Minister said that he when he had spoken to Mrs Janes on Sunday night he had wanted to say - but could not because he did not feel he knew her well - that with a personal loss as deep and immediate as she was experiencing it took time to recover.

Without referring directly to the loss of his own daughter, Jennifer, Mr Brown said that he understood well the sadness Mrs Janes felt "and the way she has expressed her grief is something I clearly understand".

That loss could never be replaced "but you have to take every day at a a time. Over time, comfort comes from understanding that your son has played an important role in the security of our country and died in such a courageous and brave way that nobody will ever forget it".

He said that when he spoke to Mrs Janes on Sunday night "I said I was sorry if any offence had been caused. I wanted to assure her that the words I was using, even if she found them difficult to read, were sincerely meant."

The issue of Afghanistan dominated Mr Brown's regular monthly press conference today, which came as the remains of six fallen soldiers - including five shot dead by a rogue policeman - were repatriated to the UK.

Mr Brown said it was “a time to reflect on the courage and sacrifice of our Armed Forces who in Afghanistan have laid down their lives to ensure our safety and security in Britain”.

He added: “Again today, the fallen will return home in solemn ceremony and again I pay tribute to them and to the friends and families who will honour their return.

“Each life lost is an irreplaceable loss from a family. It reminds us of the stark human cost of armed conflict in the service of our society. So my thoughts and prayers today, as every day, are with those now struggling with the loss of loved ones and with all those whose loved ones are still on active service overseas.”

A recording of Mr Brown's 13-minute conversation with Mrs Janes was released today and showed the grieving mother accusing him of failing British troops in Afghanistan.

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 and a recording released by the newspaper.

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