British troops will stand guard at swearing-in of Afghan government

British troops will act as guards at the ceremony in Kabul today when Afghanistan's post-Taliban administration takes office.

But their much-awaited deployment in the capital did not all go according to plan. The troops of Bravo Company, of 40 Commando Royal Marines, were meant to escort dignitaries arriving for the ceremony from Bagram airbase to the city. But due to a "communications glitch", the visitors made their own way to the capital, leaving the marines with no one to escort.

After a day of waiting, the troops eventually left Bagram and arrived at Kabul after dark at 5.16pm in a convoy of eight vehicles and disappeared inside the gates of the British embassy 11 minutes later. It was difficult to gauge the reaction of the locals, as it was difficult to see the marines.

This was the latest mishap in the long saga of British deployment in Afghanistan which had begun with Tony Blair's grandiloquent announcement that thousands of troops would be sent, only to have that stymied by objections from the warlords of the Northern Alliance and also the Americans.

There was no end to the confusion yesterday, this time about who the marines actually represent. Ahmed Fawzi, the spokesman for United Nations envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, had the impression that they were first units of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) which will eventually number up to 4,000, as authorised by the UN Security Council.

However, the British Army was adamant that the marines were part of Operation Veritas, the British end of Operation Enduring Freedom, and followed normal combat rules of engagement.

But at least last night there were 30 Royal Marines in the embassy ready for duty on an immensely important day in the political future of the shattered country. Their presence will be an overt message that the West does not consider the current status quo in the capital, in control of a Tajik faction of the Northern Alliance, as a permanent one.