Army’s latest tactic to defeat Taliban... give them bags of gold

British forces in Afghanistan should bribe potential insurgents to stop them joining the Taliban, according to a new Army manual.

It recommends talking to rebels with "blood on their hands" and suggests that "bags of gold" can buy support. The Taliban pays fighters $10 (£5.95) a day.

The strategy, which replaces British counter-insurgency doctrine based on the Army's experience in Northern Ireland, was published as Gordon Brown gave further details of his exit strategy. He said he wanted Nato forces to begin handing over areas of the country to the Afghan army next year. However, there are about 9,000 British troops in Helmand and some are likely to remain until at least 2011.

Previous attempts to pay Afghan farmers to stop them growing poppy for heroin were a failure and cost about £16 million.

Speaking at the launch of the document, Major-General Paul Newton told The Times: "The best weapons to counter-insurgents don't shoot. In other words, use bags of gold in the short-term. But you don't just chuck gold at them, this has to be done wisely."