Basra Withdrawal Was Coordinated Decision - UK PM

Basra withdrawal is coordinated decision

The movement of British troops out of Basra city was a "pre-planned" operation based on the security situation on the ground, the PM has said.

Speaking to reporters during his monthly Downing Street press conference, the Prime Minister said that the decision to move around 500 troops from Basra Palace to Basra airport was taken in conjunction with the US and Iraqi military. UK forces would remain responsible for security in the province regardless of the move and would continue to train Iraqi personnel, he said.

Mr Brown added that the transition from "combat" to "overwatch", where UK forces will hand security duties to Iraqi troops and focus on providing services and back-up, had taken place in three other provinces under British control and would go ahead in Basra only when "the time is right".

The PM said:

"The whole purpose of our policy has been to transfer responsibility from our forces to the Iraqi security forces. That has not yet happened in Basra, what we have done is move from Basra Palace to Basra Air Station in a pre-planned exercise, we will have to make a further decision when the time is right as to whether we move from combat to overwatch in Basra as a whole.

"The very fact that this change from Basra Palace to Basra Air Station has been able to take place in an orderly way is a reflection of the greater security of the area."

In addition to training around 30,000 Iraqi troops in the Basra area, the PM said that UK forces had achieved a great deal in "improving the infrastructure" and giving local Iraqi people "a greater stake in the future". The building up of the health service and education facilities along with creating jobs and renovating the port area of Basra were all part of the UK's role in "meeting its responsibilities" to the United Nations and the international community, he said.

"I believe that the presence of British troops and the work that we have done in improving the infrastructure around the area is recognised by many people in the Basra province. Thousands of people have got jobs as a result of it. The date harvest is moving ahead. We have got plans to renovate the port, we are trying with the Iraqi authorities to set up a development agency.''

Mr Brown also praised the "bravery and courage" of British forces for their work in Iraq and for the orderly way in which they were managing the transition to Iraqi control.

ENDS

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