David Miliband, the foreign secretary, declared on Tuesday that future decisions about British troop deployments in Basra would be taken on the basis of the situation on the ground in that city – and not on the basis of US military operations in Baghdad.

In a BBC interview, Mr Miliband was asked whether it was right to state that decisions taken by the Bush administration in and around Baghdad would have no impact on future decisions relating to British troop deployments in Basra.