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Brown to face Iraq inquiry calls Brown rejects early Iraq inquiry
(about 3 hours later)
Gordon Brown is set to face fresh calls for a public inquiry into the Iraq war as he updates MPs on plans to withdraw British troops by the end of next July. 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.
In a statement to Parliament, Mr Brown is expected to give more details of the timetable for withdrawal he announced during his visit to Iraq on Wednesday. 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.
Opposition parties have urged Mr Brown to set up a "full-scale" inquiry into the origins and conduct of the war. The exchanges came as the prime minister told MPs a "rapid withdrawal" of 4,100 UK troops would begin in June.
He has said there will be no inquiry while UK troops are still in Iraq. Just 400 would remain by the end of July to help with training, he said.
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. 'Sacrifice'
Several hundred troops are expected to remain in a training capacity, some working with the Iraqi navy. The prime minister paid tribute to the "heroism" of UK troops, saying they had endured great "hardship and sacrifice".
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". He also confirmed that the memorial wall to British troops killed in Iraq would be brought home from Basra to the UK.
Can't be delayed People can be proud that Iraq is a far better place than it was five years ago Gordon Brown
The withdrawal of UK troops is expected to start in the spring although Mr Brown has suggested that the biggest withdrawals will take place in the summer. 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.
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg called on ministers to apologise for taking the UK into what he said was an "illegal war".
During a meeting with Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki on Wednesday, Mr Brown confirmed that military operations will end by 31 May and the bulk of the UK's remaining personnel will leave within two months.
The prime minister said this was possible because of the success of the UK's mission in improving security to Iraq, training Iraqi troops and police, reducing violence around Basra and helping reconstruction - tasks which would be completed by the end of May.
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.
He said Iraq had seen "dark days" but significant progress had been made and, even after the troop withdrawal, the UK would maintain a strong defence and trade relationship with Iraq.
"People can be proud that Iraq is a far better place than it was five years ago."
Inquiry row
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.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. Confirmation that the UK's six-year presence in Iraq is to end 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 government must not end this war as it started it, in secret, unaccountable and behind closed doors Nick Clegg
Mr Cameron called for a "robust, independent" inquiry into the war similar to that conducted after the Falklands conflict, with a wide remit and the power to question ministers.
He said the government "owed" it to the those who had died in Iraq to agree to this and to ensure the mistakes made in Iraq were not repeated 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.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". For the Lib Dems, Mr Clegg said ministers should be "ashamed" of taking the UK to war on a false premise and said the public would demand a full account of how this had happened.
Commons leader Harriet Harman said on Wednesday that an inquiry had not been "delayed". "The government must not end this war as it started it, in secret, unaccountable and behind closed doors," he said.
She insisted ministers had consistently said that it could not happen while troops were still on active service. The SNP and Plaid Cymru also called for an inquiry to be set up as soon as possible.
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.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.