Julia Gillard has accused the Coalition of lying about Tony Abbott having a visit to Afghanistan already locked in when she invited him to accompany her over the weekend.

The Prime Minister hit back at opposition claims that she had politicised the war while the former chief of army Peter Leahy urged both leaders to stop squabbling over equipment and troop numbers and instead articulate what they are trying to achieve by deploying troops to Afghanistan.

When the Herald reported that Mr Abbott had declined an invitation to accompany Ms Gillard to Afghanistan on the weekend, Mr Abbott explained he did not want to be jet-lagged on arrival in Birmingham for the British Conservative Party's annual conference, to which he had been invited.

The jet lag comment caused outrage and Mr Abbott acknowledged his ''poor choice of words''.