Corporal John Harrison’s family, who live in East Kilbride, issued a statement through the Ministry of Defence after Downing Street had earlier defended the decision to launch the operation.

"John was a wonderful son, brother and a dedicated soldier who was greatly loved and cherished by all his family and friends," they said.

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Recriminations have spread following the freeing early Wednesday of Stephen Farrell, of the New York Times, from the hands of his Taliban captors, which resulted in the death of Corporal Harrison , 29, from the Parachute Regiment, an interpreter, two civilians and a number of insurgents.

Corporal Harrison’s commanding officer, who cannot be identified for security reasons, said his colleague "was an immensely capable, self- effacing and highly likeable soldier with an irrepressible humour."

He added: "His hallmark was an undemonstrative, yet profound, professionalism; he cared deeply about his work, and more deeply still about those he commanded and served alongside.

"He was an unflinching and inspirational man with a deep, deep pool of courage, who died as he lived - at the forefront of his men. He gave his life for his comrades and the Parachute Regiment, both of which meant so much to him.

Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth added: "He made the ultimate sacrifice and acted heroically in the face of great danger, in the best tradition of the British Armed Forces and in full knowledge of the risks he faced."

Mr Farrell, 46, who holds dual British and Irish citizenship, was abducted after travelling to Kunduz in the north to investigate a Nato airstrike on two hijacked fuel tankers in which a number of bystanders were killed. It was claimed he had been repeatedly warned by the authorities not to go.

An army source said: "When you look at the number of warnings this person had it makes you really wonder whether he was worth rescuing, whether it was worth the cost of a soldier’s life."

In Kabul, colleagues of Sultan Munadi, the interpreter, killed during fierce gunfire, were critical, particularly because his body was left behind.

Despite Whitehall sources suggesting it was Gordon Brown who gave the go-ahead to the rescue mission, No 10 insisted it was given by David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, and Bob Ainsworth, the Defence Secretary.

The Prime Minister’s spokesman explained such decisions involved discussions by Cobra, the emergency contingencies committee, which then passed on recommendations to ministers; in this case, Mr Miliband and Mr Ainsworth.

"The Prime Minister was consulted. The final decision on whether to go or not would have been made by the two Cabinet ministers. Whether he could have said no at that stage, I don’t know the answer to that," he said.

Meantime, concerns were growing at Westminster over the Afghan elections as Abdullah Abdullah, the main challenger to President Hamid Karzai, claimed the poll had been "stolen from the nation" because of widespread fraud.

William Hague, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, pointed out allied troops had paid "a price in blood" to ensure Afghans could vote but stressed rubberstamping a fraudulent poll could "fatally undermine" the UK’s standing with the Afghans.