Gordon Brown put President George W Bush on two months’ notice that all British troops could be pulled from combat duties in Iraq. But the prime minister agreed to delay the decision until after the crucial General David Petreus report on US military strategy in September.

At his first prime ministerial summit with Mr Bush, Mr Brown announced that he would make a statement to MPs in October on troop deployment in Iraq. Aides said later the Petraeus report would be a factor in this decision, as well as the views of commanders on the ground. The UK wants to move troops back to barracks in Basra – the only Iraqi province where British forces are still in a combat role – as soon as possible.