UK police criticise Iraq planning

The statue was pulled down in April 2003

The UK's police were not consulted about the role they could play in post-war Iraq until well into the conflict, a senior officer told MPs.

That lack of consultation represented a failure in planning, Hampshire chief constable Paul Kernaghan said.

The international policing co-ordinator for the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) was giving evidence to the Commons defence select committee.

First contact with Acpo came 72 hours after Saddam's statue was toppled.

'Wrong'

"There was no liaison with the professional police expertise prior to that," he told MPs.

"I think that was wrong. That in my opinion is a failure of pre-planning. I would hope in the future never to be in that situation."

The pulling down of Saddam Hussein's statue came on 9 April 2003.

Mr Kernaghan said he welcomed the Foreign Office initiative establishing a cross-ministry task force to look into how international policing operations could be organised more effectively in future.

Part of Britain's contribution to reconstructing Iraq is a small team of volunteer police deployed to Basra to work alongside Military Police training new Iraqi officers.

They have concentrated on teaching Iraqi recruits the basic principles and practices of civilian policing.