I would be quite happy to see the Northern Alliance steam across northern Afghanistan and take Kabul.

Ministers regularly meet soldiers that have returned from operational tours to hear about their experiences, including those who have recovered from their injuries.

European countries need to make more of a contribution in terms of defence capabilities. It is not fair?to keep turning to our ally in the United States to contribute military forces to problems which involve our own security.

In other words, the barbaric acts carried out in this building were probably almost a matter of routine.

The Government have made it clear that the constitutional treaty will be ratified in the UK only after a referendum.

I joined the Labour party because I believed in equality, in freedom of speech and in tolerance, compassion and understanding for people, irrespective of their background and views. In whatever I decide to do in the future I will hold to those principles.

One day they might. I accept that in the short term the consequences are terrible. No one minimises those and I'm not seeking to do so. But what I am saying is that this is a country that has been brutalised for decades by this appalling regime and that the restoration of that country to its own people, the possibility of their deciding their future... and indeed the way in which they go about thier lives, ultimately, yes, that will be a better place for people in Iraq.