British troops encamped at the airport outside Basra when American units and thousands of Iraqi reinforcements arrived in March to launch an attack on Shia extremists in the city were itching to join in, the commander of Britain's brigade at the time told The Times yesterday.

Brigadier Julian Free, commander of 4 Mechanised Brigade, said that they had all wanted to be part of the operation “to help the Iraqis”. But it was not possible to deploy British military instructors to work alongside the Iraqi troops in Basra until several days after the Baghdad-sponsored Operation Charge of the Knights began.

A ministerial “submission” also had to be sent to London before a company-sized force could be deployed. For six months, there had been no British troops in the city after a deal last summer with the Shia militia.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed that Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, had been sent the submission, but that he was required only to “note” it, which he did. “There was no question of him having to make a decision whether to approve it or not,” the MoD said. Brigadier Free's comments reflected the view of Lieutenant Colonel Chuck Western, one of the American commanders sent to Basra in March, who told The Times that the British appeared to be desperate to get into the city.

One of the problems, Brigadier Free said, was that the British troops did not have personal tracking devices, to make sure commanders knew where they were at all times. The Americans arrived with tracker beacons fitted to their vehicles, and Brigadier Free asked if he could have some for British vehicles. That took a few days.

Brigadier Free spoke to The Times after stories in the paper in which American commanders claimed that, because of the deal with al-Mahdi Army Shia militia, British troops could not go into Basra when Operation Charge of the Knights was launched. The MoD has insisted that the deal was a separate issue and did not prevent troops from returning to Basra if required.

The Americans and Iraqis started fighting al-Mahdi Army on Monday, March 24. Brigadier Free managed to insert about 100 British trainers into the city by the end of that week. He admitted that it was a nervous time when the first British troops went back into Basra, but said that the atmosphere was fantastic once the operation was under way.

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