He said Taliban militants and the British army were 'grinding each other down' and achieving nothing.

Chris Nineham of the Stop the War Coalition, who was with the soldier when he delivered the letter to the Prime Minister's office, said it was a 'very significant moment' in the campaign against the Afghanistan conflict.

'There is no question there is a lot of dissatisfaction and discontent among the armed forces about Britain's involvement in Afghanistan and Lance Corporal Glenton is the first serving soldier to express these views.'

The protest comes amid a major debate in Britain over the Afghan war, with opposition political parties claiming the 9,000-strong British contingent is under-funded and ill-equipped.

British Foreign Minister David Miliband Monday called for talks with moderate Taliban militants and said ordinary rank-and-file insurgents should be given the opportunity to 'leave the path of confrontation with the government'.