Written question asked by Andrew Rosindell (Conservative) on Wednesday, 20 June 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 25 June 2007. It was answered by Ian McCartney (Labour) on Monday, 25 June 2007 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with her colleagues at the Ministry of Defence on how long she expects a British military presence to remain in Iraq; and if she will make a statement.

Answer: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and my hon. Friend the Minister for the Middle East, (Dr. Howells) are in regular contact with our colleagues at the Ministry of Defence, and indeed with the Government of Iraq and our coalition partners, on the situation in Iraq. British forces are in Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi Government and under a UN mandate. As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister told the House on 21 February 2007, they will remain in Iraq for as long as the Iraqi Government wishes us to be there and there is a job to be done. We remain committed to our strategy of building the capacity of the Iraqi security forces, so that lead responsibility for security can progressively be transferred to them.

Secondary information