The members of the 3rd Battalion, The Rifles, who were attacked while on a joint patrol with Afghan forces near Sangin, Helmand province, are expected to be formally named later today.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the soldiers were on foot patrol at the time of the explosion, in which two Afghan National Army soldiers also died.

News of yesterday’s fatalities came after the first of 500 extra British troops arrived in Afghanistan and Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth announced a package of cutbacks in core defence programmes to fund £900 million of new equipment for troops in the country.

The deaths brought the total number of British service personnel to have died since the start of operations in Afghanistan in 2001 to 239. There have been 102 deaths this year alone.

Lieutenant Colonel David Wakefield, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said: “It is with deep sadness I must inform you that two British soldiers were killed this afternoon near Sangin in northern Helmand province.

“They were both from 3rd Battalion, The Rifles. They will be sorely missed by us, their comrades, but their sacrifice will not be forgotten.”

The MoD was unable to confirm local reports that the soldiers died after two suicide bombers on a motorcycle attacked a military convoy.

An MoD statement added: “During the course of a joint Afghan National Army and International Security Assistance Force security patrol, designed to reassure local Afghans, two British soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, The Rifles were killed as a result of a suspected suicide improvised explosive device explosion.”

In a joint article in The Wall Street Journal, the two leaders called for the creation of a “long-term global compact” between the banks and society, and for world leaders to follow Britain’s example in imposing a special tax on bankers’ bonuses as “a priority”.

The two men appeared to call for the introduction of a ‘Tobin tax’, a levy on global financial transactions that would create a fund to help pay for any future crises in the banking sector.

Britain, France and Germany have expressed their support for a transactions tax and the joint piece puts pressure on the US, where opposition to such a tax is softening, to accept the idea.

The two leaders are due to meet today for talks ahead of a European Council gathering, after reports of growing disagreements between the two countries on EU financial reform and fears that France’s coup in securing the appointment of Michel Barnier as the EU Internal Market Commissioner would lead to a regulatory stranglehold being placed on the City.

Mr Brown and Mr Sarkozy write in the US newspaper: “There is an urgent need for a new compact between global banks and the society they serve.

“It is clear the action that must be taken must be at a global level. No one territory can be expected to or be able to act on its own. And if we can find a solution, implemented consistently across the major economies, then we may find a way to ensure that taxpayers do not pay in a systemic crisis for the risks taken on by the banking sector.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has visited U.S. commanders in Afghanistan, assuring them that extra forces ordered by U.S. President Barack Obama will give them what they need to successfully defeat the Taliban.

Gates toured a new command headquarters Wednesday that serves as a joint operation center for all NATO combat troops. He told commanders that international forces “have all the pieces coming together to be successful” in the fight against violent extremists in the country.

Gates’ trip follows Mr. Obama’s decision to quickly send an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan and then begin withdrawing them in 18 months as Afghan forces take on more responsibility.

But Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Tuesday it may be five years before the army and police are ready to take on insurgents, and 15 to 20 years before his government can afford to pay for its own security.

The Afghan leader said during a news conference in Kabul with Gates that ambitious plans for a large, modern Afghan army are simply not realistic for a long time.

The Prime Minister confirmed that all the conditions had been met to allow an extra 500 troops to be deployed next month — taking the regular level to 9,500.

However, he also broke convention by giving an indication of how many special forces were active in the country.

In a statement to MPs, Gordon Brown said: “I believe the British people have a right to know and deserve the assurance that our highly professional, widely respected and extraordinarily brave special forces are playing their full role not only in force protection but in taking the fight directly to the Taliban, working in theatre alongside our regular forces.

“And I want the whole country to pay tribute to them.

“Taking into account these special forces, their supporting troops and the increases announced today our total military effort in Afghanistan will be in excess of 10,000 troops.”

UK special forces have been operating in Afghanistan ever since the invasion in 2001.

Mr Brown will repeat his “going for growth” plea that he first outlined in an interview with the Daily Telegraph last month.

He will have been buoyed by what appears to be a recent change in Conservative language and what Labour claim is an acknowledgment by David Cameron that his message on the economy needed to be more upbeat.

Yesterday, Mr Cameron said that an incoming Tory government would set out in an emergency budget how it intends to go for growth.

Mr Brown will tell business leaders: “We need an outward-facing Britain, attracting inward investment and sustaining high value added jobs. And to go for growth in Britain – we must also go for growth in Europe.

“We must never forget that Europe accounts for 60 per cent of our trade. More than 3 million British jobs depend on Europe.”

He will call for a European conference on growth to be held in London early next year.

The Prime Minister is to say he wants to see “thousands” of Chinese firms working in the UK.

He will say: “Today we have over 400 Chinese companies now operating in Britain. In our new growth strategy, I want not just hundreds but thousands of Chinese companies in Britain and British companies in China.

“I know that we will soon sign new strategic partnerships with India. Trade relations with the US are strong.

“So we need an outward-facing Britain, attracting inward investment and sustaining high value added jobs.”

Mr Brown will state that his “going for growth” plan is the best way of tackling huge public debt from the credit crunch and recession.

He is certain to ask why the Conservatives have changed tack and also question how they can go for growth when they looking at making spending cuts.

Gordon Brown said on Tuesday he had apologised to the grieving mother of a British soldier killed in Afghanistan, who had taken offence at a sloppily written condolence note from the Prime Minister.

Jacqui Janes had called the handwritten note, which appeared to mis-spell her son’s surname, a “hastily scrawled insult.”

In his regular press conference, Gordon Brown expressed regret and blamed the incident on his poor handwriting.

“I apologised to Jacqui Janes yesterday for any mistakes that had been made,” he said.

“The last thing on my mind was to cause any offence to (her) and I think people know me well enough to know that it would never be my intention … to cause any grief to a grieving mother.

“I understand very well the sadness that she feels, and the way that she has expressed her grief is something that I can also clearly understand.”

Gordon Brown’s apology was made in a private phone call to Janes which she had taped and which was reproduced by The Sun newspaper, a critic of government policy on Afghanistan.

Downing Street said Brown was unaware his conversation was being recorded.