Donald Trump has received widespread condemnation after claiming that British troops were not on the front line in Afghanistan.
The US president made his comments during an interview with Fox News, where he reiterated his suggestion that Nato would not support the US if asked.
Trump said: “I’ve always said, will they be there if we ever needed them? That’s really the ultimate test, and I’m not sure of that.
“We’ve never needed them. They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan… and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.”
The comments drew outrage and condemnation from across the political spectrum, with a number of MPs and veterans denouncing his claims?
But was there any truth to his comments? And what have his critics said about them?
Were Trump’s claims correct?
As many of Trump’s critics have pointed out, his claims that British troops were not on the front lines in Afghanistan are not accurate.
The UK and several other Nato allies joined the US in Afghanistan from 2001, when America invoked article 5 of Nato’s collective security provision after the terrorist attacks of September 11 2001.
The article states that "an armed attack against one Nato member shall be considered an attack against them all".
Between 2001 and the withdrawal of coalition troops 20 years later, approximately 3,500 Nato troops died.
2,461 of these were US service personnel - however many more came from other nations who contributed troops and military equipment to the US-led war.
Around a third of the total coalition deaths were non-American, with 457 British troops killed in combat and during other operations in Afghanistan.
Denmark lost the largest proportion of soldiers per capita other than the US, with 44 deaths. Canada lost 159, while 90 French, 62 German, 53 Italian and 44 Polish soldiers also died.
What have people said?
Politicians and veterans have been scathing in their criticisms of Trump following his comments, describing them as “flat-out nonsense” and “deeply disappointing”.
Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte told Mr Trump: “For every two Americans who paid the ultimate price, there was one soldier from another Nato country who did not come back to his family – from the Netherlands, from Denmark and particularly from other countries.”
Lord Dannatt, head of the British Army between 2006 and 2009 at the height of the conflict, said: “Donald Trump has got his facts completely wrong. When the new operation was launched in southern Afghanistan in 2006, the UK agreed to take the lead on behalf of Nato and went into Helmand.”
Government minister Stephen Kinnock said: “Many, many British soldiers and many soldiers from other European Nato allies gave their lives in support of American missions, American-led missions in places like Afghanistan and Iraq.
“I am incredibly proud of our armed forces. They have put their lives on the line for our country. They are the definition of honour and valour and patriotism.
Kinnock added: “President Trump’s comments are deeply disappointing, there is no other way to say that. I don’t know really why he said them. I don’t think there’s any basis for him to make those comments.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch described Trump’s comments as "flat-out nonsense", adding: “British, Canadian, and NATO troops fought and died alongside the US for 20 years. This is a fact, not opinion. Their sacrifice deserves respect not denigration.”
Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty, who served in Afghanistan as a captain in the Royal Yorkshire Regiment, said he saw first hand the sacrifice made by British soldiers.
He added that it was "sad to see our nation's sacrifice, and that of our Nato partners, held so cheaply by the president of the United States.”
Speaking on Question Time, Labour MP and foreign affairs committee chair Emily Thornberry called the comments an "absolute insult" to the British service personnel killed in the conflict.
"We have always been there whenever the Americans have wanted us," she said
Labour MP Calvin Bailey is a former RAF officer who served alongside US special operations units in Afghanistan.
He said Trump’s claims bore "no resemblance to the reality experienced by those of us who served there".
"As I reminded the US Forces I served with on 4 July 2008, we were there because of a shared belief, articulated at America's founding, that free people have inalienable rights and should not live under tyranny," he added.
A number of parents of troops who died during the conflict have also hit out.
Lucy Aldridge, whose son William died in a bomb blast aged just 18, called Trump's remarks "extremely upsetting."
"We live the trauma daily for the rest of our lives because of the contribution that our loved ones made. And they were absolutely on the front line," she added.
Trump has previously been criticised for avoiding being conscripted to fight in Vietnam after being diagnosed with bone spurs in his heels - a medical claim that has been subject to significant doubt.
Former soldier and author Stephen Stewart said: “Trump’s comments are as offensive as they are inaccurate. It’s hugely ironic that someone who allegedly dodged the draft for the Vietnam war should make such a disgraceful statement.
“He has desecrated the memory of hundreds of British soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan, people who we called friends and comrades. If he was a man of honour, he would get down on bended knees to ask forgiveness from the families of the fallen.”
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey added “Trump avoided military service 5 times. How dare he question their sacrifice?”
