Iraq withdrawal in next nine months

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The Daily Telegraph said only a few hundred would remain after spring 2009, compared to about 4,000 currently serving in the country.

But a spokesman for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that while it was hoped that the UK's military presence in Iraq would "decrease significantly", it was too early to put accurate numbers on any withdrawal.

And he added that conditions on the ground and the requests of coalition partners and Iraq's government would need to be taken into account.

The Telegraph quoted Major General Barney White-Spunner, who has just returned from a six-month tour in southern Iraq, as saying that Prime Minister Gordon Brown's stated intention for a "fundamental mission change" would be able to "take place next year".

Last month the Mr Brown told MPs: "We will continue to reduce the number of British troops in Iraq.

"Of course, future decisions will be based - as I have always said - on the advice of our military commanders on the ground.

"But just as last year we moved from combat to 'overwatch', we would expect a further fundamental change of mission in the first months of 2009."

The MoD spokesman insisted this was still the case, saying: "Although it is hoped that the UK military presence in Iraq will decrease significantly in the future, it is still too early to discuss the size and shape of a reduced UK forces footprint."