BRITAIN is preparing to hand over control of Basra to the Iraqi army as early as next month, sparking renewed claims from the US that the British are preparing to “cut and run”.

The Iraqi army is on course to take control of Basra province by the autumn with October seen as the earliest point at which it would be ready, according to Whitehall officials.

It could allow Gordon Brown to announce the handover in his widely anticipated statement on Iraq to the Commons when MPs return from the summer recess.

The handover would enable most of the 5,500 British soldiers to leave Iraq, although negotiations are under way to base some troops in Kuwait.

Iraq timeline: five years of conflict

From accusations that the weapons of mass destruction dossier had been sexed-up to withdrawal of British troops from Basra

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According to defence sources in Washington, American commanders in Baghdad have accepted that British troops are on their way out of Iraq, prompting further criticism this weekend from US military commentators. Frederick Kagan, of the American Enterprise Institute, said it was “hard to imagine” conditions that would allow a handover next month. “It really highlights the growing divergence between the British and American approach,” he said.

General Jack Keane, a key architect of the US troop “surge” in Iraq, said the handover plans had “much more to do with conditions in the UK” than those in Iraq.

Government attempts to play down the simmering row with the US were hampered by General Sir Mike Jackson, former head of the British Army, who launched a scathing attack yesterday on American handling of postwar Iraq.

Jackson described the approach taken by Donald Rums-feld, the former US defence secretary, in postwar Iraq as being “intellectually bankrupt”.

The growing irritation in Washington will only be increased by renewed claims that the British have done a deal with the Shi’ite militias to ease their way out of Basra.

The lawyer for a Briton held without trial in Basra detailed a number of secret meetings where the British agreed to a phased release of militants, including known killers.

The Ministry of Defence denied any such deal but a senior defence source said secret talks mediated by the Iraqi special police had been “going on for weeks” to ensure a safe withdrawal from Basra Palace.

The prime minister has promised President George W Bush that the British will continue to monitor the progress of the Iraqi troops for the foreseeable future.

That will require about 2,500 troops, including a 1,500-man quick reaction force to intervene if the Iraqi security authorities cannot control the situation.

Officials emphasised that a number of plans were under consideration but senior military commanders are pushing to base the force in Kuwait.

Whitehall sources confirmed last week that Britain was speaking to the Kuwaiti government about “moving some of the functions currently carried out at Basra airport to Kuwait”.

Additional reporting: Jon Swain

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