No plans to quit Iraq: Gordon Brown

LONDON – British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will not unveil a plan for an early withdrawal of British troops from Iraq in talks with US President George W Bush yesterday, Brown’s spokesman said.

Brown sets out later yesterday for his first meeting with Bush since succeeding Tony Blair as prime minister last month. Speculation has been rife in British media that Brown could distance himself from Blair’s policy on Iraq.Opposition to the war contributed to the pressure on Blair, a staunch supporter of US policy there, to step down early after a decade in power.The Sunday Times newspaper reported a senior aide to Brown had sounded out Washington on the possibility of an early British troop withdrawal from Iraq.Nampa-ReutersSpeculation has been rife in British media that Brown could distance himself from Blair’s policy on Iraq.Opposition to the war contributed to the pressure on Blair, a staunch supporter of US policy there, to step down early after a decade in power.The Sunday Times newspaper reported a senior aide to Brown had sounded out Washington on the possibility of an early British troop withdrawal from Iraq.Nampa-Reuters