British forces could hand over responsibility for security in Basra in southern Iraq to local authorities by next spring, Margaret Beckett told MPs today.

Control of two of the provinces in the British zone - Dhi Qar and al-Muthanna - has already been transferred to Iraqi authorities.

Today the Foreign Secretary told the House of Commons there was "confidence" that the third province, Maysan, would follow in January, and Basra - Iraq's second city - in the spring.

It is the first time that a Government minister has set even a vague target for handing over security in Basra, but officials later stressed that this was a hope, rather than a strict timetable.

Mrs Beckett said: "In our own area of responsibility we expect Maysan to follow in January and the progresses of the current operation in Basra gives us confidence that we may be able to achieve transition in that province too at some point next spring."

A continuing hotspot for violence between rival Shia factions, Basra is a major centre for coalition forces with just over 7,000 British troops stationed in and around the city.

It is thought unlikely, though, that a handover of control would lead to the immediate withdrawal of British troops. For a transitional period at least, it is believed that the bulk of them would remain in UK bases in the south of the country in order to be available should home-grown security forces need help.

Mrs Beckett said that the "appalling" daily reports of murder and kidnappings showed that country’s fate was "hanging in the balance", and insisted that the intention was not to leave Iraq in the lurch.

"There is no question of us cutting and running from Iraq - to do so would be an act of gross irresponsibility, abandoning the Iraqi people to bloodshed perhaps even worse than we see today," she said.

"As I have said to this House before, we owe it to our own forces and to the Iraqi people to hold our nerve in this critical period.

Speaking during a debate on the Queen’s Speech, the Foreign Secretary said that the process of transferring security to Iraqi forces was "well under way" and that US-administered Najaf province was likely to be the next to be handed over to local control.

"So there is a clear forward perspective, notwithstanding the obvious difficulties that Iraq faces but it continues to demand our wholehearted attention and our unwavering support,"

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