Kevin Rudd, the Australian prime minister, has been accused of losing his temper during a trip to Afghanistan because troops could not find him a hairdryer before a photo opportunity.

Kevin Rudd_OZ
© Getty ImagesKevin Rudd, the Australian prime minister, reportedly became angry when troops could not find him a hairdryer
John Cobb, an opposition frontbench MP who recently returned from a trip to Afghanistan, claimed Australian troops had told him that Mr Rudd "threw a wobbly" during the visit, and said the soldiers at the Australian base of Tarin Kowt were "going on and on about it".

The incident was alleged to have occurred when Mr Rudd embarked on an unannounced visit to pay tribute to troops serving the war zone before Christmas last year.

Mr Rudd, who last month apologised for reducing a stewardess to tears when she could not provide him with an acceptable in-flight meal, has strongly denied the claims.

Speaking on Fairfax radio, he said the allegations were "absolutely ridiculous and absolutely false" and designed to draw attention away from the poor performance of his political rivals.

He also accused Malcolm Turnbull, the leader of the Liberal opposition party, of denigrating the "good name" of the country's frontline forces with "bizarre dirt unit tactics".

However, Mr Cobb has stood by his claims, saying Australian troops told him about the incident.

He said stories about Mr Rudd's alleged bad behaviour had been circulating among the defence force ever since his visit.

"Some troops told me that when the PM was visiting them recently he chucked a wobbly because he couldn't blow-dry his hair," Mr Cobb told The Australian newspaper.

"I can't remember whether it was because somebody forgot to bring one, or because the damn thing did not work or because he did not have the right connections. They were having a good giggle about it. I mean, these people are engaged in pretty serious occupations and he (Mr Rudd) wanted to blow-dry his hair but couldn't," Mr Cobb said.

Despite his denial, reports of the incident in Australia's newspapers and on television are likely to further tarnish Mr Rudd's carefully moulded easy-going, good-boy image.

Australians were shocked last month to learn that the prime minister had lost his temper with a flight attendant, shouting at her and making her cry because his preferred meal was unavailable.