Britain must be willing to talk to the Taliban and other extremist groups in order to try to stabilise the world, the Defence Secretary says today.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Des Browne says that Britain and other democratic states should negotiate with organisations linked to violence - including elements of the Taliban and Hizbollah - in an attempt to prevent the long-term spread of terrorism.

"What you need to do in conflict resolution is to bring the people who believe that the answer to their political ambitions will be achieved through violence into a frame of mind that they accept that their political ambitions will be delivered by politics," he says.

Although Mr Browne says there is "presently" nothing to negotiate about with al-Qa'eda because "their demand is an end to our way of life", the Government should be negotiating with some parts of the Taliban and Hizbollah.

His comments appear to contradict Gordon Brown's pledge last year that Britain would not negotiate with terrorists.

The Prime Minister told the Commons: "We will not enter into negotiations with these people."

But The Daily Telegraph disclosed two weeks later that MI6 had secret talks with the Taliban.

Mr Browne says his experience as a Northern Ireland minister convinced him that the West should be willing to have lines of communication open to Islamist extremists.

" There are different varieties of these organisations ... There's no question that some of them, if we succeed, will transfer into the political dimension."

Mr Browne admits that his comments will be controversial. But he says the Government faced the same criticism in Northern Ireland.

"Now we see the two extremes sitting in government together and that is celebrated. I don't know anybody who doesn't think that's a better position to be in than hundreds of people losing their lives."

In the interview, the Defence Secretary says he remains "optimistic" about the situation in Iraq, despite this week's violence in Basra.

He rejects criticism of the decision to pull British troops out of the southern city. "We left at exactly the right time."

He insists there is "no plan" for troops to return to the city, although he says "we will do what is necessary to support [the Iraqis]".

He also says that British troops will move towards an "overwatch" position in Afghanistan.

The present level of pressure on the Armed Forces is, Mr Browne admits, unsustainable. "We can't do this for ever and we aren't."

Source: Telegraph (UK)