All but several hundred of the British troops stationed in Iraq will have withdrawn by next June, defence sources have said.

Just 4,100 of the 45,000 soldiers that the UK sent to Iraq in the 2003 invasion remain in the country, the vast majority in the south around Basra.

According to officials speaking on the condition of anonymity the withdrawal will begin next March, six years after the invasion.

A Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesperson told inthenews.co.uk there was "no timetable" for withdrawal.

But with Gordon Brown already hinting at withdrawals in 2009 alongside the US, which is beginning to phase out troop numbers from the middle of next year onwards, the MoD admitted a "fundamental change of mission" was imminent.

"Significant progress has been made in Basra, a city which has now been transformed thanks to Iraqi, coalition and British efforts," a statement said.

"As such, we are now expecting to see a fundamental change of mission in early 2009."

A further statement added: "We plan – subject to the conditions on the ground and the advice of military commanders – to reduce our force levels in Iraq as we complete our key tasks in Basra in the early months of next year. Final decisions on the timing of the drawdown will depend on the circumstances at the time.

"We will remain committed to Iraq. We expect to move from next year towards a long-term, broad-based bilateral relationship with Iraq similar to the relationship we have with other allies in the region, including a training and education role for our military personnel.

"British forces will only leave southern Iraq when we are confident that the Iraqis can operate effectively without our support. The Iraqis already have the lead in providing security in Basra, and that will not change. UK combat forces will leave Iraq earlier than US forces, so of course the US will need to protect the main supply routes through the south of Iraq – but there is no question of the US taking over in Basra."

About 300 troops are expected to remain in Basra to continue training and mentoring Iraqi security forces, with the rest being redeployed to Afghanistan.

The United Nations mandate for coalition troops in Iraq expires this year.

The US has committed itself to withdrawing troops from next year, with its military presence completely removed by the end of 2011.

Today's news has triggered fresh calls for an inquiry into the Iraq war.

The government has repeatedly cast aside demands for an inquiry with the reasoning it would be unhelpful while combat operations are ongoing.

"Now that Brown's fig leaf of a major British operation is set to disappear, he has no excuse to delay any longer on holding a full public inquiry into how this foreign policy catastrophe happened," said Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg.

"Our whole country will breathe a sigh of relief that an end to this illegal war is now in sight," Mr Clegg said.


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