UK denies Iraq U-turn

UK patrols also cover the northern no-fly zone

By Barbara Plett in Basra

The UK has denied that it is planning to halt air patrols that regularly bomb southern Iraq - but reports quoting unnamed officials say London is looking to change its sanctions policy.

The reports say British and American policy is under review as the new US administration prepares to take over.

Basra has been a safe-haven for refugees since the Gulf War

Diplomats in the region say the UK is pulling back from its support for hardline US policies amid growing international opposition to UN sanctions.

The Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein, also appears to be making a comeback, despite recent rumours that he had suffered a stroke.

Western concern

The UK says there would not be any changes to its Iraq policy unless Baghdad complied with UN demands for weapons inspections.

The USS Carl Vinson patrols the Gulf

But reports, quoting unnamed British sources, say London would like to halt air patrols in the south of the country because they have achieved their aim of preventing the repression of Shi'ite Muslims living there.

Public concern over casualties is also growing in the West.

Baghdad claims that US and British war planes have killed more than 300 civilians in two years.

The no-fly zones were not the result of UN resolutions, but were imposed by the US, UK and France to limit the Iraqi leader's ability to repress his own people - although France subsequently withdrew.

Resurgent president

The reports said the UK still supported the northern air exclusion zone set up to protect the Kurds.

But they said that behind the scenes, London was also looking at the possibility of introducing sanctions that target Iraqi military imports, rather than a blanket economic embargo.

The UK and the US are also facing a resurgent Iraqi president, who, despite recent rumours of ill-health, still appears to be in control.

There is no unusual security presence or restrictions on foreign journalists that would indicate a change in the regime.

And last week, state television made a point of showing the president at several public functions.