From Barrow to Basra – Hutton tours frontline and outlines future UK role

DEFENCE Secretary John Hutton was today out on patrol on the dangerous streets of downtown Basra to see for himself the risk to British troops on the frontline in Southern Iraq.

KEY TALKS: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, right, meets British Defense Secretary John Hutton, left, in Baghdad yesterday

The Barrow and Furness MP was with squaddies in a six-wheeled Mastiff armoured car as they did their job in the city.

Mr Hutton arrived at the main British troop base at Basra Airport on the outskirts of the city early this morning after meeting Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri Al Maliki, and his Defence Chief General, Abdul Qadir, in the capital Baghdad yesterday.

Mr Hutton has signalled there would be a “fundamental change” in Britain’s role in Iraq early next year, adding that “significant progress” had been made in Iraq in recent months and security was improving across the country.

Read the full article on The North West Evening Mail here

MP Hutton's tea break with Barrow soldier in Iraq

DEFENCE Secretary John Hutton surprised a Furness squaddie by dropping in to see him in Iraq.

Senior Aircraftsman Jon Corkill sent an email to Mr Hutton two weeks ago congratulating the Barrow and Furness MP on landing his new job as Defence Secretary.

The 27-year-old dad-of-three also invited Mr Hutton for a brew and chat the next time he was in Iraq. Mr Hutton took up SAC Corkill’s invite on Monday when the pair met in Basra.

Mr Corkill, who is serving as a crash rescue firefighter, training the Iraqi fire service, told Mr Hutton: “The best part of my job here is working with the lads and seeing the Iraqi services taking more responsibility for the airfield. The hardest thing is being away from my family.

“Training the Iraqi fire service is a vital part of their development and is key to them taking over the airfield responsibilities. This is an awesome airport with great potential to help the area develop.

To read the full article on the North West Evening Mail click here

We are getting closer to achieving goal - says Hutton

The Defence Secretary John Hutton visited downtown Basra today after visiting Baghdad where he met with Prime Minister Maliki .

During the visit to Basra he commented:

“As my first time in Basra, I was amazed by the sense of optimism as I heard of the tremendous gains made here in the last few months. The local military, police and ordinary citizens made it quite clear they were optimistic the city would not slip back into violence. And the new investment, development and infrastructure improvements I have seen will support this determination."

“It is clear the support of our forces and our role in training the Iraqi Army has been critical in achieving these improvements. Now, we want to focus on training and education to get us closer to our aim of passing full control to the Iraqi authorities."

“We are getting closer to achieving this goal and I hope we can reach the point when we can consider a significant change to our mission here next year."

“This massive progression is due to the efforts of every British service personnel and civilian who has served here, and I am hugely proud of what they have achieved. ”

Hutton pledges changed role in Iraq

Defence Secretary John Hutton has signalled there will be a "fundamental change" in Britain's role in Iraq early next year as he made his first visit to Baghdad.

He held talks with Iraqi prime minister Nouri Maliki before meeting the small number of UK forces stationed in the Iraqi capital.
Afterwards, he said "significant progress" had been made in Iraq in recent months and security was improving across the country.

"We want, in the first months of next year, to see a fundamental change in our military mission in Iraq, moving towards an increased focus on military training and education as part of a broad-based bilateral partnership," he said.

"We agreed to work together intensively to put in place, by the end of this year, a formal agreement in relation to the status of UK forces in Iraq which will underpin this change."

To read the full report on the Press Association click here.