'No more' British troops for Iraq

British foreign secretary Margaret Beckett said today Britain does not intend to send more troops to Iraq.

British foreign secretary Margaret Beckett said today Britain does not intend to send more troops to Iraq.

President Bush said last night he is sending 21,500 extra troops to Iraq, which he believes are needed to help "break the cycle of violence.

Asked about Britain's plans, Ms Beckett said: "It is not our intention to send more troops at the present."

The Daily Telegraph, citing a timetable for withdrawal which it said it had seen, reported today that Britain will cut troop levels in Iraq by almost 3,000 by the end of May.

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Within the next two weeks, British prime minister Tony Blair would announce the reduction to Britain's 7,200-strong force based in the south of the war-ravaged country, it said.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman dismissed the Telegraphstory as speculation.