David Cameron has described the lack of helicopters in Afghanistan as "a scandal" and accused Labour of lacking "commitment and focus".
In an interview on Sky News, David stressed that the Conservatives had been warning about a shortage of helicopters for 3 years but the Government had failed to act.
He said, "Of course it's partly about money but a lot of it is about commitment. If three years ago the Government had really put its shoulder to the wheel it could have delivered more helicopters."
David called for urgent action to get more helicopters to the front line but warned that Labour were not making the issue a big enough priority:
"We're on our fourth Defence Secretary in four years, the two procurement Ministers are part-time, and we have a defence secretary who's twenty-first in the Cabinet. These are signs of the priority the Government is giving to these things."
David pointed out that the American forces in Afghanistan have over 100 helicopters whereas British troops have less than 30.
And he stressed, "What is required is commitment and focus. Frankly, that hasn't been there for the last three years and we need to see urgent action from the Government."