Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Hurd of Westwell (Conservative). It was answered on Monday, 17 July 2006.

Iraq: UK Forces

Question: My Lords, has the Minister seen the authoritative item on the front page of the International Herald Tribune today, which reports that the Iraqi security forces are regarded in large parts of Baghdad by Iraqis simply as the agents of Shia militias? Is it part of the criteria for our withdrawal, of which the noble Lord speaks, that the security forces to whom we hand over are actually proven in their integrity as servants of Iraq as a whole?

Answer: My Lords, I have not read the article to which the noble Lord refers, but I will read it. However, we know that in certain elements of the Iraqi police there are serious issues relating to sectarian allegiances. We have seen significant improvements in the performance and effectiveness of the Iraqi Army; we are seeing that on the streets of Basra now. Without doubt, its visibility and the effectiveness with which it is undertaking operations is testament to the excellent mentoring and training that it has received from UK forces and to its commitment and resolve.

Secondary information