Campbell backs military demands for Army to leave Iraq

1.30.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 20th Aug 2007

The Independent on Sunday has reported that senior military commanders have advised the government to withdraw troops from south-east Iraq without further delay. Commanders have said that Britain can achieve "nothing more" in Basra, which has seen a sharp rise in insurgent attacks over the past year.

Sir Ming Campbell, Leader of the Liberal Democrats said "Gordon Brown must listen to his generals in Iraq and set a target date for withdrawal. The number of British deaths and casualties is unacceptable. We have a moral obligation to the brave young men and women fighting in Iraq and to the British people to reappraise our strategy and start the drawdown of troops."