David Cameron's shock as the Taliban hang child ‘spy’ aged just seven

In the front line: David Cameron arrives in Kabul today to visit British troops

12 April 2012

Taliban commanders in Helmand have hanged a seven-year-old child they accused of spying, it was claimed today.

A sickened David Cameron, who flew into Kabul this morning, said the atrocity would be a "crime against humanity" if true.

The boy was tried on Tuesday and publicly hanged in Heratiyan, a village in Sangin, Helmand province, said Dawoud Ahmadi, the provincial governor's spokesman.

Speaking in Kabul Mr Cameron said: "If this is true, it is an absolutely horrific crime. I have a six-year-old daughter and the idea of someone believing that a six or seven-year-old can be spying ... is without any justification."

Afghan president Hamid Karzai said: "A seven-year-old boy can't be a spy. A seven-year-old boy can't be anything but a seven-year-old boy. Hanging or shooting to kill a seven-year-old boy is a crime against humanity."

The Prime Minister added: "As the president said, it is a crime against humanity and, if true, it says more about the Taliban than any book or article or speech could ever say."

Mr Cameron revealed his impatience to quit Afghanistan as he paid his first visit to the country as Premier.

He declared that 2010 was "the vital year" and that he did not want to keep troops in the region a day longer than necessary.

"This is the vital year," he said. "This is the year when we have to make progress — progress for the sake of the Afghan people, but progress also on behalf of people back at home who want this to work.

"Nobody wants British troops to be in Afghanistan for a moment longer than is necessary. We should be asking all the time, Can we go faster?'"

Mr Cameron virtually ruled out sending more troops to add to the 10,000 regulars and 500 special forces already in the country, and spoke of leaving behind a stable and secure Afghanistan when the mission is over.

The Prime Minister pledged an extra £67 million of funding for counter-measures against the roadside bombs that have been the biggest cause of death and injury to British forces. Later he flew to meet soldiers fighting the Taliban, saying meeting their needs was "my biggest duty as Prime Minister".