UK troops in Basra cut by 1,000

Tuesday, 2 October 2007

UK troops in Basra are to be cut by 1,000 by the end of the year, Gordon Brown has said on a visit to Baghdad for talks with senior politicians.

Mr Brown also confirmed Basra province could be handed over to full Iraqi control in the next two months.

Britain currently has about 5,500 troops stationed at Basra Airport.

Mr Brown, on his first visit to Iraq as UK prime minister, praised the troops for their "great courage, professionalism and bravery".

'Difficult job'

He said: "What we propose to do over these next few months is to move from a situation where we have a combat role to an overwatch role."

This would involve the present British force of 5,500 being cut to 4,500 - freeing up the troops for other duties, he said.

"Hopefully they will be home by Christmas," Mr Brown told reporters.

He also announced plans for a new investment agency and development fund for Basra to help regenerate the economy.

The prime minister called for a renewed effort by the Iraqi political parties to achieve political reconciliation.

He added: "I am very proud of what our armed forces are achieving here. I believe they have acted with great courage, professionalism and bravery.

"We will discharge our obligations to the Iraqi people and to the international community and we will discharge our obligations to our armed forces, who are doing this difficult job."

Commons statement

Mr Brown landed at Baghdad International Airport under heavy guard on Tuesday morning before being taken by helicopter to the fortified Green Zone.

Mr Brown was in talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki for an hour. He was also due to meet the US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus.

BBC political correspondent James Hardy said he went straight into meetings before making the surprise announcement that 1,000 troops would be home from Iraq by Christmas.

Mr Brown will tell the Commons next week that more still needs to be done in Iraq including political reconciliation and economic regeneration.

But army figures are warning that a significant force will have to stay indefinitely, our correspondent said.

It is thought British forces are likely to stay in Basra for up to two more years on "overwatch", which involves mentoring and training the Iraqis rather than patrolling.

Conservative leader David Cameron said he would support a withdrawal of some British troops from Iraq if local forces were ready to take over.

"If it is now possible to hand over progressively to the Iraqi army and to bring more of our troops back home, then he will certainly have my support," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Later, at the Conservative Party conference, shadow defence secretary Liam Fox accused Mr Brown of pursuing photo opportunities and failing to grasp the needs of the military.

Lindsey German, convener of the Stop The War Coalition, said the withdrawal of troops was a welcome development, but was not "a serious attempt to deal with the disastrous Iraq war".

Meanwhile, Britain's consul general in Basra, Richard Jones, has told the BBC the dominant feeling among local people was fear.

He said the local police force had been infiltrated by hardline Shia militias.

Iraqi residents told the BBC they feared that could mean all-out war between rival militias once Britain hands over security to local forces.

Mr Brown has prepared for many weeks to announce that British troops will finally be able to hand over the last of four provinces to Iraqi forces to control.