Brown sets date for British troops to pull out of Iraq

Published on Wednesday 17 December 2008 21:53

BRITAIN'S troops will begin to withdraw from Iraq on 31 May, six years after the invasion, Gordon Brown announced during a surprise visit to the country yesterday.

The Prime Minister travelled to Baghdad, Basra and the port of Umm Qasr to confirm that UK forces will withdraw next year, after striking an agreement with the Iraqi government.

Questions remained over whether the troops would be re-deployed to Afghanistan, which hosts 8,000 British soldiers – more than double the number present in Iraq. Pressure is also mounting on the government to confirm when it will hold a public inquiry into the Iraq invasion, now that a withdrawal date has been set.

During his whistle-stop visit yesterday, Mr Brown hailed the Iraq mission as a success.

Looking back since the US-led invasion in March, 2003, the Prime Minister said: "I hope that you can see the difference that you have made over that period of time: this is a success story thanks to you."

After talks with Iraq's prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, Mr Brown suggested that the biggest troop reductions would take place nearer to summer.

Earlier, Mr Brown laid a wreath at a memorial for the 178 UK service personnel killed in Iraq. "They will not be forgotten," he said. "I am grateful to all those who have served."

The memorial, situated outside Basra airport, will be moved to the UK as the last British troops leave next year. Mr Brown was also given a tour in an Iraqi navy boat of the Khor Az Zubayr waterway – a vital gateway for the country's oil production.

Speaking to reporters on the waterfront afterwards, Mr Brown said the area was evidence of the progress made over the past year.

"This is a change which I think has been taking place quite radically over the last year," he said.

The Prime Minister also joked: "I was going to say before I spoke, for you all to take your shoes off," – a reference to the flying footwear that George Bush, the president of the United States, had to duck during a press conference last week.

Mr Brown was joined for the trip by Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, the Chief of the Defence Staff, who played down the prospect that troops would simply be transferred to Afghanistan. He said: "We cannot just have a one-to-one transfer from Iraq to Afghanistan.

"The net result must be a reduction in our operational tempo because the forces have been overstretched for too long," Sir Jock said.