1343 MPs have finished questioning William Hague on the Kabul conference, which wraps up our extended coverage of Commons proceedings for today. Nick Clegg entered the lion's den of PMQs and emerged relatively unscathed despite the best efforts of a very fired-up Jack Straw. Thanks for all your e-mails and comments. That was the final PMQs before the summer recess - the next sessions is due in the first full week of September.
1335 The British government put £26m into counter-narcotics programmes this year in Afghanistan, MPs are told. Mr Hague says he saw Saffron being grown on his visit to Afghanistan, which says gives a bigger rate of return to the farmer than opium poppies.
1332 Most of the Taliban who are killed "are about 20 miles from their home", reveals the foreign secretary, suggesting that they were not fighting for ideological reasons. That was why the reintegration programme, which can involve financial incentives to give up arms, was working, he added.
1330 Asked about Muslim converts to Christianity, some of whom are reported to be facing execution, Mr Hague says the UK government has made "remonstrations" to the Afghan authorities, as the previous government had done.
1327 Labour's David Hanson asks Mr Hague to comment on Nick Clegg words at PM's questions about Iraq being an "illegal war". The foreign secretary sidesteps the question, saying, with a smile, that Mr Clegg has a "different history" on the issue to him.
1325 Asked again why the UK does not just pull out now, given that the Afghan National Army is now more than twice the size of Britain's armed forces, Mr Hague says success in Afghanistan is crucial to global security.
1321 Mr Hague confirms that part of the "reintegration" strategy in Afghanistan is buying off local groups of armed men.
1317 Asked about the position of women in Afghanistan, Mr Hague said it was central to the international coalition's strategy and he said the UK would support women's rights "in any settlement".
1317 If the aim was combating al-Qaeda, why were similar actions not taking place in the Yemen, Somalia and other countries, asks Peter Lilley. Mr Hague says failure in Afghanistan would give "great heart" to terrorists in other countries and "embolden" their campaigns.
1314 Asked why, now that there is a timetable for withdrawal, it is not being done sooner, Mr Hague says the Afghan forces would not be ready to take over any sooner than 2014.
1313 Mr Hague says there will be 105,000 Afghan police officers by October 2011, about 4,000 short of the target, but he said the "quality" of the recruits was a problem both for the police and the Afghan National Army and he acknowledges it is a difficult area. He does not know how many prison places are available in the country.
1311 When UK troops work with the Afghan National Army their casualties were lower, says Mr Hague.
1310 By October 2011, the Afghan National Army would be 171,600 strong, which Mr Hague said was a "very large army" and a sign of how much progress was being made.
1308 The UK wants a political settlement with the Taliban under which al-Qaeda can not return and there is a "legitimate government" in place, says Mr Hague. But the foreign secretary adds that he does not want to define the government's objectives by 2015 "any more tightly" than he already has.
1305 In recent months, cooperation "at all levels" between the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan had improved, says Mr Hague. This was essential if progress was to be made, particularly in the south of the country, he adds.
1303 Meanwhile, in the Commons, Mr Hague says there is not enough progress being made on tackling corruption. But he has raised this with President Karzai and new rules banning ministers from having relatives involved in the tax system of Afghanistan will help, he says.
1300 We are not looking to "conquer" Afghanistan, stresses Mr Hague, merely to help the Afghan government look after its own security and three pronged strategy of military, economic and political efforts would help achieve that aim.
1258 Mr Hague admits that NATO had been slow to get started in Afghanistan but he says it is now making good progress.
1257 On timings, Mr Hague said the UK government's position was that combat troops, or troops "in large numbers", would not be present in Afghanistan by 2015.
1256 Regional cooperation was improving, said Mr Hague, and insisted a "political process" remained important - there was not a purely military solution - but it must be "Afghan led".
1255 Back on Daily Politics the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg and host Andrew Neil say some of the Labour leadership contenders are finding the grind of hustings exhausting. Labour's John Denham also adds that the second preferences of voters are likely to be key in deciding who the winner is.
1252 Mr Hague says the Afghan National Army was ahead of schedule in building up its numbers. He said there were problems in recruiting from one particular ethnic group but it was generally "one of the success stories".
1250 Mr Miliband stresses the need for a "clear vision" on Afghanistan policy.
1248 Mr Miliband asks about current military operations in Helmand Province and planning for the Kandahar operation, and how to avoid a "false choice" between warlordism and Talibanisation. And he asks about the quality of the Afghan National Army and whether it has legitimacy in the regions it is serving. And, finally, he asks about wider regional cooperation.
1246 Mr Miliband asks how the ethnic divisions in Afghanistan will be overcome to reach a political settlement and the role of key US and Afghan figures in the process.
1243 Shadow Foreign Secretary David Miliband asks about the timetable for British withdrawal, accusing the government of sending "mixed messages". Is the deadline 2014, 2015 or as the defence secretary has said, will British troops be the "last to leave Afghanistan", he asks.
1241 The donors' "overall aim" is to speed up the handover to Afghan forces and boost the economy and jobs. There will also be increased support for education and the administration of justice, Mr Hague tells MPs. He says the Kabul process is a "major step forward".
1239 Mr Hague says the government's aim is a "stable" Afghanistan and to enable the country to "maintain its own security".
1237 Foreign Secretary William Hague is now giving more detail on the policy towards Afghanistan. He says we must "guard against over-optimism" in Afghanistan but also not listen to those who only want to hear bad news.
1235 From BBC political correspondent Ross Hawkins: Nick Clegg found his way through the interruptions from rival MPs and the Speaker to emerge relatively unscathed from PM's questions. But what he had to stay about Afghanistan may be remembered long after the novelty of seeing a Liberal Democrat in this role has faded. Jack Straw wanted to know whether a commitment to withdraw combat troops from Afghanistan was conditional on the situation on the ground there. Volunteering a clarification to an earlier, more vague answer, the deputy PM declared slowly and deliberately: "Let me be absolutely clear that we will see our troops withdrawn from Afghanistan from a combat role by 2015. That is what we are determined to see happen."
1232 MPs are streaming out of the chamber as Nick Clegg finishes his debut performance. There were a few "well done Nicks" audible as they left. William Hague begins his statement on Afghanistan. Speaker Bercow appears to have let PMQs run on a bit, after the hold-ups at the start of the session.
1231 Labour backbencher Jeremy Corbyn calls for British troops to be immediately withdrawn from Afghanistan. Mr Clegg says he does not agree with Mr Corbyn's stance, but says the coalition wants troops back home as soon as possible.
1229 The House has settled down now as Mr Clegg deals with some routine questions from backbenchers. Lib Dem MP Julian Huppert congratulates him for his historic appearance at the despatch box and asks about ending the detention of child asylum seekers, one of the concessions won by the Lib Dems in the coalition agreement.
1225 Plaid Cymru's Elfyn Llwyd focuses on Mr Clegg's attitude to the VAT increase, which Mr Clegg opposed before the general election. A few furrowed brows on the government front bench but Mr Clegg answers it well enough.
1223From BBC political correspondent Ross Hawkins: The Conservative Claire Perry has embraced the spirit of the coalition. She offers the Lib Dem DPM a gift of a question - encouraging him to sing his own praises on civil liberties. Again Speaker Bercow intervenes to cut the answer short.
1221 This is one of the stormiest of PMQs for ages, with Jack Straw clearly determined to make the most of his time in the hot seat. Mr Clegg has held his own, however, despite being ticked off by the Speaker several times now for not getting the protocol right.
1219 Mr Straw continues with the Forgemasters line of attack. Mr Clegg has the final word, with a jibe at Mr Straw about his complicity in the "illegal invasion of Iraq".
1218From BBC political correspondent Ross Hawkins: Bad moment for the Speaker - who has been hard to miss in this session. He's stopped Nick Clegg in his tracks and told Jack Straw to be brief. Then he has to apologise for calling another MP when Mr Straw still had a question left.
1216 A put-down from Mr Clegg - "Thank heavens this is the last time he is at the despatch box. He needs to go away and practise a bit more".
1215 Mr Clegg takes a gulp of water and has a word with George Osborne as Mr Straw continues his attacks on the coalition. He is sounding a bit hoarse as he tries to be heard over protests to the Speaker from Conservative MPs. This is all getting a bit ragged.
1214From BBC political correspondent Ross Hawkins: Jack Straw is picking up on an article in the Financial Times claiming David Cameron and Nick Clegg wrongly accused the directors of the Sheffield Forgemasters steelworks of being unwilling to dilute their shareholding. The government cancelled an £80m loan to the plant. It's close to the bone for Nick Clegg, whose constituency is in Sheffield.
1213 Mr Clegg seems to be taking Mr Straw's attacks and the very loud barracking from Labour MPs - which prompts a public warning from the Speaker, in his stride.
1212 Jack Straw goes on the attack over the government's decision to cut a loan to Sheffield Forgemasters, in Mr Clegg's constituency, saying the basis on which the decision was made - that the money could be raised by the dilution of shareholdings - was misleading.
1210 Mr Clegg says the government is determined to withdraw British troops from combat operations in Afghanistan by 2015, in response to Mr Straw's first question.
1207 Mr Clegg ventures a little joke, saying it is the first time a Liberal leader has been in his position since the 1920s, around the time when first Mr Straw entered Parliament. Mr Straw thanks him for the welcome and says it could be the "one and only" time he's at PMQs to "surely not" groans from all sides.
1205 Big cheers from Labour MPs as Jack Straw gets to his feet, grinning broadly. Although the mood becomes appropriately more sombre as Mr Straw adds his condolences to the families and friends of the servicemen killed in Afghanistan.
1204 Mr Clegg fields a question about computer hacker Gary Mckinnon, saying David Cameron and the US President "hope to find a way forward".
1203 Coalition cuts are first on the agenda, as a Gateshead MP asks about investment in schools in his constituency. Mr Clegg says Building Schools for the Future would still have been cut if Labour had been in power.
1201Mr Clegg is on his feet in the Commons, reading out tributes to servicemen who have died in Afghanistan.
1201 Labour leadership news from BBC political correspondent Laura Kuenssberg. Big public sector union Unison's leadership has backed Ed Miliband.
1159 From BBC political correspondent Ross Hawkins: It's Nick Clegg's moment in the PMQs limelight. The word in the Commons is Labour MPs are already planning how to throw him off his stride, and Conservatives are being urged to give the Liberal Democrat deputy PM their support.
1158 So what sort of questions will Mr Clegg face? Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi might come up. Jack Straw was involved in the case when he was justice secretary. But perhaps Mr Straw will want to maximise Mr Clegg's discomfort by focusing on coalition spending cuts.
1157 Ken Clarke has been made to look"rather foolish" by the crime statistics, says Lord Howard, who is really fired up about this one.
1156 Interesting sequence on the Daily Politics, as Michael "prison works" Howard hits back at Justice Secretary Ken Clarke's recent claim that it doesn't. Lord Howard, as he now is, calls Mr Clarke words a "caricature" of reality.
1155 Labour MPs are likely to be straining at the leash to get their teeth into Nick Clegg, who they never tire of calling a sell-out for his coalition with the Conservatives. Speaker Bercow could be in for a busy session.
1154 There's a bit of a Lib Dem takeover going on in the Commons at the moment. Mr Clegg's frontbench colleague, Secretary of State for Scotland, Michael Moore, is taking MPs' questions at the moment.
1153 We will keep the live coverage going when PMQs ends at 1230 to cover Foreign Secretary William Hague's statement on Afghanistan, which follows immediately afterwards.
1150 Hello and welcome to our live coverage of what is set to be an historic prime minister's question time. With David Cameron in Washington, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will stand in - the first time a Liberal Democrat leader has taken PMQs. Jack Straw will do the honours for the opposition as Labour does not currently have a deputy leader. Stay with us for live text and analysis. You can also get involved via our
Have Your Say debate
. The session starts at mid-day.
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