Britain's top military officer was forced yesterday to step into the controversy surrounding the replacement of Brigadier Roger Lane, the Royal Marine commander in Afghanistan.
Admiral Sir Michael Boyce, chief of the defence staff, said Brig Lane's move to another - as yet undetermined - appointment had nothing to do with his performance in Afghanistan and had been announced in February, well before the Afghan mission.
There had been no reason, he said, for Geoff Hoon, the defence secretary, to know about the change. At the weekend Mr Hoon had voiced confidence in the brigadier. The brigadier would stay in Afghanistan for at least four more weeks, the admiral said.
Following weeks of criticism of a deployment in which the marines have yet to come into direct contact with an enemy, Downing Street moved to support Mr Hoon and Brig Lane.
The prime minister's spokesman said: "He [Brig Lane] hasn't got the heave-ho. This is a routine decision taken for good reasons."
However, Lieutenant-General John Reith, chief of joint operations, said Brig Lane "may not have got it right on the media side of things".