IT is no secret that the insurgency in Afghanistan is fuelled by drugmoney.

Nor should it be any surprise, given the troubled history and deprived cultural background of those involved, that the easy availability of drug-money has such a destructive effect. A serious effort to tackle the root of this problem is long overdue.

Most of the drug-money used in Afghanistan is produced in the West, much of it in Britain. The British Government clearly lacks the political will to stem this corrosive flow, fearing that any departure from the status quo might alienate its supporters.

The international community must now compel the British to allow in an Afghan expeditionary force to do the job for them.

Supported as necessary by aerial and artillery bombardment, this force would sweep through the cities and districts of Britain in which drug-money providers are known to operate, cutting off the supply of drug-money at source.

John Riseley, Harrogate, North Yorkshire.