It is a political rite of passage for the Leader of the Opposition to go and meet the troops. Often given a warmer reception than the PM, the footage is always carefully stage-managed. But what happens behind the cameras?

Guido’s man on the frontline reports that when Ed visited Afghanistan two weeks ago he decided he wanted to have lunch with some soldiers to talk candidly away from the scrutiny of the pack. All very well and good. Having sat down with some troops he was busy eating and chatting away before someone pointed out the American flags on their sleeves…