Head of British Army says UK presence worsens security situation in Iraq

3.00.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Fri 13th Oct 2006

Chief of the General Staff Sir Richard Dannatt has sparked controversy in a Daily Mail interview. He said the presence of UK forces in Iraq "exacerbates the security problems" and they should "get out some time soon."

Liberal Democrat Leader, Sir Menzies Campbell said "If you take Richard Dannatt's comments at face value, he is talking months, not years, as the length of time before British troops withdraw from Iraq. Brick by brick government policy on Iraq is collapsing. There is no doubt that there is a slide towards civil war. There is a desperate need for a new strategy led not by the US, but by the UN, providing for a peace process with a reinvigorated reconstruction programme and concerted international and regional engagement."