Brown declines to set Iraq pullout dates

Brown, the finance minister who is on track to succeed Prime Minister Tony Blair at the end of June, also told BBC radio he would put special stress on economic development in Iraq to give Iraqis a stake in their own future.

"I've visited them (British troops) in Basra, I will continue to keep in touch with them and I will be visiting again fairly soon," Brown said.

"I want to make my own assessment of the situation, to listen to what they have to say, to listen to what the troops have to say themselves and then to listen to what the authorities in Iraq have to say," Brown said.

When asked about setting a timetable for withdrawing British troops from Iraq, he replied: "I don't think at this stage you pre-set a date."

He added that British troops were being gradually pulled out from a peak of 44,000 in the aftermath of the March 2003 US-led invasion.

"It's now down to 7,000 and it'll go down to 6,000 and it is coming down, but the assessment must be made by the (British) military on the ground," he said.

"Our troops are moving towards an advisory position, towards an overwatch position and allowing what would be half a million Iraqi security forces to take control themselves," he said.

Brown said more stress now had to be placed on economic development in Iraq.