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The presence of British forces in Afghanistan is providing 'oxygen' for al-Qaeda, the United Nations' senior expert on the terrorist group has warned.

Richard Barrett, head of the UN's al-Qaeda monitoring unit, said latest intelligence indicated that the operations of British and foreign troops in southern Afghanistan were galvanising the organisation. Barrett, who reports directly to the UN Security Council, added that the deployment of foreign troops in the country was acting as the 'glue' with which Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network was bonding support in the region.

'The presence of foreign forces provides a glue and they have been quite clever to exploit fears of an outside force,' he said. 'You could say that the threat of foreign occupation is giving them oxygen in the region with tribal leaders leaving aside local differences to unite against foreign forces.' The government sent UK forces to Helmand province ostensibly to prevent the region becoming a safe haven for al-Qaeda whence it could instigate attacks against Britain and the West.

Barrett said the presence of Nato troops and coalition forces in Afghanistan had helped al-Qaeda consolidate its position on the Afghan-Pakistani border by offering the terrorist group a target.

During operations in Iraq, military commanders warned that British forces in Basra had fuelled support for the insurgency. General Sir Richard Dannatt, head of the British army, said two years ago that British troops in Basra were exacerbating 'security problems', making the case for UK forces to withdraw.

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