The British military is likely to have a long-term role in Iraq, a top commander said today.

Major-General Barney White-Spunner, who is in charge of British forces in southern Iraq, said current troop levels will only be reassessed once the job of training Iraqi soldiers and setting up a new security framework in Basra is complete.

But he said that the transformation of Iraq’s second city, which was wrested from militia control by the Iraqi security forces in April, had vindicated Britain’s often-criticised military approach in the south.

The focus for Britain’s 4,000-strong force, based at an airport outside the oil-rich, port city, is to conclude the training of the 14th Iraqi Army division, he added.

He said: “We are setting up a structure in Basra that is as future proof as it can be so that if bad people, violent extremists, do try to come back into Basra – and they will – that the Iraqi security forces have got as much help in dealing with them as they need.

“When those conditions are filled then we will make recommendations on numbers.

“What we all hope is in the future, and when the future starts I don’t know yet, there will be a long-term bilateral relationship between the UK and Iraq... which will be economic and cultural and probably have a military element.”

Britain must conclude a status of forces agreement with Iraq before the end of the year to legalise the future presence of British troops in the country as their United Nations mandate runs out at midnight on December 31. The US Government is currently in talks with Baghdad on such a deal to govern US forces. This will be used as a template for the British-Iraqi accord.

Major-General White-Spunner said the turnaround in Basra proved that Britain had been right to hand control of the province to the Iraqi authorities last December. At the time, the decision was described as premature by critics who said that Britain had failed to reign in the Mahdi Army and other Shia militias.

“I think our vindication if you like is in the [deployment] of the Iraqi Army now and the results that have been achieved. Look at the end product,” he said.

Iraqi soldiers and police backed by US and British troops launched a major assault on Basra in late March, which initially backfired as militiamen put up a strong resistance. The Iraqi Army and police, however, eventually managed to regain control, pushing the gunmen off the street to the delight of ordinary residents.

Much work remains to be done, however, with unemployment high and basic services such as water and electricity patchy at best.

Major-General White-Spunner stressed the need for reconstruction as well as economic development and investment, noting that Basra has the potential to resemble Dubai in the next decade.

“Basra has got the oil. It’s got the gas, the port, the people. It’s got the airport. Now it’s got security,” he said. The city generates $6 billion a month from oil revenue for the Iraqi Government.

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