Gordon Brown has indicated there will be no major pullout of British troops from Iraq until next year.

The Prime Minister told MPs troop levels in Iraq will remain at 4,100 "for the next few months".

But he said he expected "a further fundamental change of mission" for British troops in Iraq in the first months of 2009.

Mr Brown said he expected Iraqis to hold local elections in Basra and take over control of the city's airport by the end of the year, and said training of Iraqi troops should be completed "during the first months of next year".

These were some of the conditions he said must be achieved to pave the way for a large-scale reduction in troop numbers while visiting British troops in Basra at the weekend.

Speaking in the Commons, he said that as progress was made "we will continue to reduce the number of British troops in Iraq".

Mr Brown was widely criticised when he announced plans last year to cut the UK force to 2,500 from the spring of this year, only to see the numbers remain above the 4,000 mark.

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