LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned Afghanistan’s government today to take action against corruption, saying he would not risk more British lives there unless it reforms.

Brown said in a speech that success in Afghanistan is vital to Britain’s security — but declared that if the Afghan government does not mend its ways it will forfeit the world’s support.

“I am not prepared to put the lives of British men and women in harm’s way for a government that does not stand up against corruption,” he said.

The speech comes after the deaths of seven British soldiers in the past week, including five who were shot by an Afghan police officer they were training. Corruption-marred presidential elections and rising casualties have undermined British support for the war.

Brown said the government in Afghanistan had become a by-word for corruption, but that newly re-elected Afghan President Hamid Karzai had assured him that he would take decisive action against it.