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Iraq

It will not surprise the hon. Gentleman to know that I think that the governor was wrong when he asked me whether the capture or the handover of two British soldiers to what appears to us to be militiamen was an aberration. By definition, as it is the first time that it has happened, it was an aberration. That does not make me complacent in the least. If the hon. Gentleman is asking me—I think he is—whether there are elements within the Iraqi police force who may have joined with a view to usurping the authority and arms of the police service to the benefit of one particular grouping in the community, I think that there are. They are not the majority. They are not the majority even in Basra. It is necessary for the leadership of the Iraqis to show strong leadership as well as it is necessary for us to take action to defend our troops, which is why we arrested 12 further people on Friday of last week. We will continue to do what is necessary, within the legal framework in which we operate, to defend our troops and to train the Iraqi police service in human rights and objectivity as well as in the martial skills.