Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Trefgarne (Conservative). It was answered on Thursday, 23 November 2006.

Iraq and Afghanistan: UK Forces

Question: My Lords, I am most grateful to the noble Lord for that reply. In the light of the Foreign Secretary’s recent announcement that British forces are shortly to begin leaving Iraq in some numbers, can we assume that the objectives in Iraq at least are now complete?

Answer: My Lords, it is important for us to be absolutely clear about what the Foreign Secretary said. It was not that British forces would shortly be leaving Iraq, but that we hope that the situation on the ground, particularly in Basra, develops to the point where our forces could change their posture to one of operational overwatch. They would still have to be in the region—in the country—but they would be performing the role of supporting the Iraqi forces themselves doing the patrolling. We hope that that position could be achieved by the spring. It is important for us to recognise that the process of handover does not necessarily mean that our troops will immediately be able to come home. That requires us to get to the point of strategic overwatch.

Secondary information