Plans to halve British troop numbers in Iraq next year could jeopardise the British presence there, a parliamentary report said today.
Britain has around 5,000 troops based in Iraq, all stationed at an airbase outside Basra, where they are involved in training Iraqi security forces.
The government intends to cut the number to 2,500 from spring of next year as more Iraqi soldiers and police are trained to take over responsibility for security.
But the House of Commons Defence Committee said such a reduction threatened to leave too few soldiers to either train the Iraqis properly or protect themselves adequately.
"Important questions remain about the sustainability of a force of this size," the bi-partisan committee said in 40-page report based on briefings and interviews with British and US military and diplomatic staff in Iraq.
"If there is still a role for UK forces in Iraq, those forces must be capable of doing more than just protecting themselves at Basra Air Station."