Expert's Kabul visit off after bombs

Ian Brewster has worked in places as diverse as Belize and Hong Kong

A Welsh expert who was due to fly out to Afghanistan to train police officers has had his trip cancelled because of safety fears.

Ian Brewster, from Gwent Police, had been due to travel to Kabul on Monday to help officers in crime scene work.

But Britain's Centrex - the Central Police Training and Development Authority - has stepped in amid tightened security in Kabul.

The cancellation comes in a week in which a British officer was killed and four soldiers injured in a suspected suicide bomb attack in Kabul on Wednesday.

The bombing came at about the same time as another suspected suicide attack just east of Kabul.

The decision is based around the risks involved due to the current climate of the country Gwent Police spokesman

Five people were injured in that attack which took place during a memorial ceremony for a Canadian soldier who had been killed in a suicide attack.

Kabul has been the focus of suicide bomb attacks which are said to have been carried out by the ousted Taleban.

The US embassy in Kabul has advised its citizens against making unnecessary journeys in the city - especially during the Islamic festival of Eid ul Adha between 1 February and 3 February.

Mr Brewster and a colleague from south Yorkshire would have been the first people to go out and help officers in crime scene preservation.

They would have also mentored new officers who are finishing their training.

A Gwent Police spokesman said: "The decision to cancel Ian Brewster's trip was taken by Centrex.

"The decision is based around the risks involved due to the current climate of the country."

He was asked to do the work with another colleague from the south Yorkshire force by the National Training Centre for Scientific Support to Crime Investigations.

It was part of a three-year programme in Afghanistan organised by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.