20,000 UK troops destined for Iraq

TONY Blair is to authorise the sending of an expeditionary force of up to 20,000 servicemen and women to the Middle East for a US-led war against Iraq.

Senior Whitehall sources said the Prime Minister’s decision, expected at the end of the month, comes amid growing concern among defence chiefs at the lack of strategic direction from the government to allow them to prepare troops for any mission to Iraq.

Mr Blair kept war planning within a small group of civil servants and military officers working in the Cabinet Office to prevent leaks prior to the Labour Party conference.

"Now the conference is out of the way, the Prime Minister feels more confident to start winding up military preparations," said one source. "Up to now, the line has been that no decisions have been made about war. This will start to change ."

Last month, Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, visited Donald Rumsfeld, his US counterpart, to offer British troops for an Iraqi campaign. However, defence sources said that since then, there had been little feedback from the US on what type of troops they want and how they would be used.

The sources said a prompt decision from the government was needed to allow the army to begin training for desert warfare. The "big" British contribution would involve heavy armoured forces to fight alongside US divisions currently gathering in Kuwait.

An enlarged armoured brigade with Challenger 2 tanks and Warrior troop carriers will be the core of the UK force. Most of the units will be drawn from the 1st Armoured Division and 7th Armoured Brigade, based in Germany.

Two Scottish regiments, the Black Watch and Scots Dragoon Guards, are currently assigned to the Desert Rats Brigade and will play a key role in any desert deployment. Up until last month, they were on stand-by for firefighting duty, but were then told to return to normal military training. Military sources described this ring-fencing of Germany-based combat units as prudent contingency planning to allow initial preparations to be made in the run-up to Mr Blair’s deployment announcement.

A strong RAF contingent is also expected to be sent to the Middle East to join Tornado squadrons from RAF Lossiemouth, in Morayshire, and RAF Leuchers, in Fife, that are already in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia on no-fly zone patrol duty.