Tony Blair has agreed to delay a decision on deploying British troops north towards Baghdad, reports the Times.

The move comes as Labour whips and ministers attempt to persuade Labour MPs that the American request was not related to a desire by President Bush to show that he is not isolated in Iraq.

A whip told the Times: "They are not against British troops doing more hazardous jobs. They are against the idea it is being done to help Bush."

The Telegraph claims that the decision to move the troops was taken last week.

A defence source told the paper: "I think there is an issue over the extent to which they have misled parliament."

A new motion calling for a Commons vote before any deployment is now being circulated.

Alice Mahon, its sponsor, said she had collected the names of 42 MPs.

She said: "The move is not worth a single soldier’s life because they had 130,000-odd American soldiers in the area and really don't need our 600. There are an awful lot of people who have not spoken out before speaking up now."