The government has announced that another 220 troops are to be sent to Iraq.

The extra soldiers will stand in for Dutch forces that are being pulled out.

According to the FT, the deployment of extra soldiers will disappoint Labour backbenchers who hope this weekend's elections could lead to the winding down of the British deployment.

Meanwhile, Charles Kennedy has urged the government to set out an "exit strategy" for UK forces.

The Liberal Democrat leader called for the "phased withdrawal of British troops as soon as the current security situation allows".

The Guardian claims that Britain and America have privately agreed an exit strategy.

The agreement, which was reached on Monday between the US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his British counterpart Geoff Hoon, is based on doubling the number of local police trainees and setting up Iraqi units that would be part police and part army.