AN MP has warned that the warin Iraq has meant the British Government has taken its eye off the ball in Afghanistan.

Speaking on her return from a four-day tour of Kabul, Durham City MP Roberta Blackman- Woods warned it could take decades to rebuild Afghanistan.

She said: "I think Afghanistan has lost out because attention has shifted to Iraq - that's why I was against the war in Iraq.

"It isn't too late for Afghanistan, but we have lost a lot of time. We have taken our eye off the ball there and I am furious about it."

Dr Blackman-Woods made her first visit to the country in her role as chairwoman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Afghanistan, during which time she visited Kandahar, Kabul and Helmand, where the fighting involving British forces has been fiercest.

She also flew over the opium fields in the south of the country.

"It was a much more challenging place than I thought it would be," she said.

"In places it is medieval. In Kabul, there were some modern buildings from the Soviet era, but right next to them were glorified huts.

"It was incredibly hot, incredibly dusty, especially at Camp Bastion, which is in the middle of the desert, so the temperatures were horrendous."

Dr Blackman-Woods said the members of the British military she spoke to said they were wellequipped and understood both their role and Afghan culture.

She also said that Afghan civilians and politicians were keen on the continued presence of British troops, who were heavily involved in the reconstruction of the country.

She said: "It is such a poor country, it's hard to imagine what it is like before you see it.

"What we heard was that if the reconstruction does not move forward then ordinary Afghans might be more sympathetic to the Taliban and al Qaida.

"We thought the Afghan Government was using that to persuade the US and Britain to stay with the project, because the consequences of the Taliban and al Qaida having control of a state is horrendous.

"Progress is slow because you are coming from such a low base.

It's a long-term thing because you can't build a country overnight.

"We kept asking ourselves if there would be the support to stay for the long-term if British casualties were to rise?

"But, to allow the Taliban to gain control would be to open ourselves to huge problems of terrorism, not to mention what it would mean for the people of Afghanistan.