Britain working 'hand in glove' with US over Iraq

Jan 11, 2007, 16:12 GMT

London - The British government Thursday welcomed the decision by US President George W Bush to send more troops to Iraq but said the government in London had no plans to increase current troop levels of around 7,200.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Tony Blair, asked after a cabinet meeting whether the British leader specifically backed the US decision, said the UK was 'working hand in glove' with its coalition partners and the Iraqi government in the conflict.

'What the Prime Minister fully supports are the efforts of the US, as announced, the efforts of the Iraqi government, and our own efforts to create the space and time to allow the Iraqi government to establish its authority and make Iraq a more prosperous country,' the spokesman said.

Earlier, Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said the US decision to send a further 21,500 troops showed the 'determination of the US to deal with the security situation in Iraq.'

But she said the British government had no plans at present to send more troops to Iraq.

'It is not our intention at the present time to send more troops,' said Beckett.

The British military was working 'progressively' towards handing over security to the Iraqis in British-controlled southern Iraq.

Beckett stressed that the situation in the British sector centred on the port of Basra was 'very different' to that US troops were facing in Baghdad.

Beckett stressed that British plans to hand over security responsibility to Iraqi forces in the southern provinces of Iraq were 'well underway.'

British forces, currently engaged in a major anti-insurgency operation in Basra, are expected to be withdrawn from the city in the first half of 2007 to be stationed at the airport there, according to a plan outlined by Beckett late last year.

But Thursday, both Beckett and Blair's spokesman stressed repeatedly that any withdrawal would depend on the security situation at any given time.

'We will make our judgements and our decisions depending on the progress of those events,' said Beckett.

Troop levels are expected to be halved from the present deployment of around 7,200 and British soldiers would remain in southern Iraq to 'oversee' security arrangements that would largely be handled by Iraqi forces.

However, Beckett played down a report in the Daily Telegraph newspaper Thursday that the government would shortly announce the withdrawal of 3,000 British soldiers from Iraq by May.

It was announced Thursday that the British parliament will hold a debate in Iraq on January 24, during which Blair is expected to give an assessment of the situation in Iraq and outline British plans.