SUPPORT for the military action in Afghanistan has been voiced by West Devon and Torridge MP John Burnett — but he has called for 'minimum force and maximum humanitarian aid'.

Mr Burnett said: 'It is essential that we win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people and stick by them. The British have a unique record of success in post-war conflicts like these.'

However, Mr Burnett said those who perpetrate terrible crimes, like that committed on September 11, must be brought to justice — 'We cannot allow terrorists to prevail'.

He said Osama Bin Laden had effectively asserted that the Al Qaida regime was involved in the attacks. He added that evidence he had personally been shown as an MP corroborated that.

Mr Burnett's wife, Billie, is American and the couple have a niece who lives just a few blocks from what is now the mangled remains of the World Trade Centre.

'I support what we are doing but it has to be minimum force. We in the West have got to demonstrate by words and deeds that our philosophy and ethics are not impaired by our reaction to a terrible attack.'

Liberal Democrat Mr Burnett — one of only a handful of MPs to have seen active service — was in the Royal Marines during his military service. For a short term he was with the US Marine Corps. He served as a troop commander in 42 Commando in Borneo.

'I know in Borneo that rightly we were constrained in the amount of force we could use. I cannot emphasise enough that minimum force and humanitarian aid are the only morally defensible and militarily effective means of achieving our aims,' he said.

'It is my belief that indiscriminate bombing and the unleashing of overwhelming force against innocent people is not only morally wrong, but is also militarily self-defeating.

'We must ensure that we achieve our aims with minimum force to establish a democratic, accountable and free regime in Afghanistan.'

He said America and Britain must not 'walk away' once the military operations were completed. There would be a massive task of support for years to come.

'The humanitarian aid we must provide isn't just food and shelter. It must also involve health care and education.'

Mr Burnett said that meant education for not just the male members of society.

'Beaten for showing their faces, denied all education and opportunity, the Taliban discrimination against women — which I believe is alien to the Muslim faith — is brutal, unconscionable and must be abandoned,' he said.