Bereaved families of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan said yesterday that the conflict had been for nothing.

As British troops prepare to withdraw from the war-torn country later this year, the relatives of some of those who died have said that any improvements seen in the country would soon disappear.

More than 400 British troops have been killed in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion.

Tony Philippson’s paratrooper son Captain James Philippson was one of the first British soldiers to die in Afghanistan, in June 2006.

He said that, although his son had wanted to fight, he believed the mission wouldn’t succeed.

“Though my son wouldn’t have missed going there for the world, he didn’t believe for one minute it was either worth doing or that we would succeed,” said Mr Philippson.

“He knew it was for nothing but I couldn’t stop him from going because he wanted to do some soldiering. It was his decision, he was the one who was willing to take the risk.”

Despite improvements in some areas of Afghanistan, Mr Phillipson said, it was likely to quickly return to how it had been before coalition troops arrived.

“Women are allowed to go to school now, but how long is that going to last?” he added.

Joan Humphreys, whose grandson was killed in Afghanistan in 2009, said British forces had not achieved anything in the country.

Private Kevin Elliott, of the Black Watch, died alongside Sergeant Stuart Millar in an explosion while on foot patrol in southern Helmand in 2009.

Ms Humphreys also condemned politicians and those who had decided to go to war, saying: “We (Britain) are a small, pretty irrelevant country nowadays, we aren’t the power Britain once was.

“We should just stay back and if the Americans want to go in, let them go ahead, but don’t put our servicemen in there.

“We should never have been there and when people say it’s a job well done, it’s just unbelievably crass. There’s no consideration for the families.”

Their comments come as Britain escalates attacks on Isis after MPs agreed to launch airstrikes in Iraq.