British troops are fighting at the limit of their capacity, the new head of the Army has warned.
Sir Richard Dannatt said the Army was "meeting challenges on the hoof" and that soldiers could "only just" cope with the Government's demands.
In his first interview as chief of the general staff, Sir Richard said: "We are running hot, certainly running hot. Can we cope? I pause. I say 'just'."
His warning will fuel mounting alarm about Britain's involvement in Afghanistan after 14 military personnel died when an RAF Nimrod crashed in Kandahar on Saturday. The Government has come under increasing pressure over whether the armed forces are overstretched and under-equipped.
Sir Richard, who took over from Sir Michael Jackson last week, gave his interview before the Nimrod plane crash.
He refused to set a timeframe for the withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan, but emphasised they were there for the "long term".
He also downplayed hopes that the number of British forces in Afghanistan could be halved from 7,200 now by the middle of 2007.
Although Sir Richard called for a national debate on defence spending, he would not comment on whether current levels were adequate.
