AN ABERGAVENNY mother, whose son was the 200th soldier to be killed in the Afghan war, said she holds former Prime Minister Tony Blair directly responsible for her son's death.

Hazel Hunt's son Private Richard Hunt, 21, died in hospital in August 2009 a few days after being fatally injured in an an explosion near Musa Qala.

Mrs Hunt told the Argus: "I don't have my son any more thanks to him and I hold him (Blair) directly responsible."

She said she does not know how Mr Blair and Gordon Brown sleep at night.

Mrs Hunt said she sees no point in troops staying in Afghanistan until 2014 - when the withdrawl of troops is expected to start.

"The sad truth is we've tried and it hasn't worked.If we had stayed in Afghanistan and not gone to Iraq I think the whole story could have been different. When they did go back in 2006 the Taliban had reformed and rearmed."

She added: "They are never going to have any kind of democracy like we have.

"An awful lot of them are not prepared to fight for their country. Why should we lose our young blood for them?"

Mrs Hunt also reacted to Barack Obama's surprise visit to Afghanistan last week where he pledged to end the Afghan war.

Mrs Hunt said the trip would have had more meaning if he had been there in daylight.

"The trouble with Obama is that he's got an election coming up. He's trying to impress on the electorate that he succeeded in the job," she said.

Mrs Hunt appealed to the American President: "Tell the honest truth and then get the hell out of it because we're wasting lives let alone huge amounts of money."

MRS Hunt was one of several Elizabeth Cross holders who met the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh during the royal visit to Ebbw Vale's Christ Church on April 27.

She said the Queen asked her about the charity she set up called Welsh Warrior The Richard Hunt Foundation which helps Welsh service personnel and their families.

Mrs Hunt said: "They were lovely and it was a great honour to meet them."