Brown rejects early Iraq inquiry

Gordon Brown paid tribute to servicemen and women who have died

Gordon Brown has rejected calls for an early inquiry into the Iraq war, saying it would not be considered until UK troops are out of the country.

Conservative leader David Cameron and Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg both want an inquiry now that the exit date for British troops of 31 July has been set.

The exchanges came as the prime minister told MPs a "rapid withdrawal" of 4,100 UK troops would begin in June.

Just 400 would remain by the end of July to help with training, he said.

The prime minister paid tribute to the "heroism" of UK troops, saying they had endured great "hardship and sacrifice".

Tory leader David Cameron "welcomed" the timetable for withdrawal but called again for an inquiry into the war.

Mr Cameron said a full-scale inquiry into the origins and conduct of the Iraq was vital so "we can learn from the mistakes made" there.

During a meeting with Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki, Mr Brown confirmed that military operations will end by 31 May and the UK's remaining 4,100 service personnel will leave within two months.

Several hundred troops will remain in a training capacity, working with the Iraqi navy and helping to protect Iraq's oil facilities.

Mr Brown has said the country should be "proud" of the role that British troops have played in Iraq and that they will leave the country "a better place".

Can't be delayed

Before leaving Iraq on Wednesday, Mr Brown laid a wreath in memory of the 178 British servicemen and women who have been killed there since 2003.

Confirmation that the UK's six-year presence in Iraq is to end has intensified calls for an independent inquiry into the background to the invasion, how it was conducted and how military operations have been carried out since then.

Shadow foreign secretary William Hague has said an inquiry "can no longer be delayed", arguing that it will yield valuable lessons for the UK's continuing deployment in Afghanistan.

The UK is expected to come under pressure to send more troops to Afghanistan next year as fighting between the existing Nato force there and the Taleban intensifies.

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, whose party opposed the Iraqi war, has said an inquiry is needed to ensure the deaths of British troops and Iraqi citizens are not "simply swept under the carpet".

Commons leader Harriet Harman said on Wednesday that an inquiry had not been "delayed".

She insisted ministers had consistently said that it could not happen while troops were still on active service.

On Thursday it emerged that 23 officials from Iraq's interior and defence ministries have been arrested on suspicion of being members of a banned Baathist party.