I am writing to inform the Committee of changes in location of our Regional Embassy Offices in Iraq.

BASRA

  Since it was established following the dissolution of the Coalition Provisional Authority on 30 June 2004, the British Embassy Office Basra (BEOB) has been located in its own discrete compound within a site known as the Basra Palace, on the southern outskirts of Basra City. The US Regional Embassy Office, the UN Assistance Mission to Iraq (UNAMI). and military forces from Multi-National Division (South East) also have their own compounds within the Basra Palace site.

  As the Committee will be aware from the Prime Minister's statement of 21 February, British forces are in the process of reducing the number of fixed bases which they hold in and around Basra. This is in line with our objective of progressively transferring responsibility for security to the Iraqi security forces, and of handing Iraqi assets back to the Iraqi authorities. This process has already begun with the recent handover of the MND(SE) base at the Old State Building in Basra City. Handovers of two further bases will follow shortly. The Prime Minister noted on 21 February that he also expected our forces to vacate the Basra Palace site itself in the late summer. Over the next few months UK forces will increasingly consolidate their presence at the Basra Air Station (BAS, also known as the Contingency Operating Base (COB)). This adjoins Basra International Airport, about 5km outside Basra City.

  Against this background, we have decided also to move our Embassy Office from the Basra Palace to BAS. The move is now underway. The benefits of relocation to BAS will be:

—  all the major elements of the British effort in southern Iraq—the Embassy Office, the UK-led multinational Provincial Reconstruction Team and the Divisional Headquarters of MND(SE)—will be in the same place. This is deepening civil-military co-operation in strategy, planning and Operations, as part of a genuinely joined-up approach to achieving our objectives in southern Iraq.

—  the move will allow us better to ensure the safety of our staff; and other civilians in Basra who come under the FCO's Duty of Care. Since October 2006, Basra Palace has been subjected to extremely high levels of rocket and mortar fire from extremist groups. We judge that our staff in Basra will be able to operate more safely from BAS, where the threat is currently significantly lower.

  We hope that the full handover of Basra Palace to the Iraqis, following the departure of British forces and other international partners, will stand a high profile symbol of the progressive assumption of responsibility by the Iraqi authorities.

  While Embassy Office was located at the Basra Palace, we repeatedly tried to open discussions with the Government of Iraq over the possible acquisition of a freehold or leasehold interest in our site, but without success. After the move to BAS is complete, therefore, the FCO will not retain any ongoing legal or proprietary interest in the Basra Palace site. But we will make clear to the Government of Iraq our interest in the possibility of re-opening a diplomatic mission in Basra City in the future, either at the Palace or another suitable site, once conditions permit.

KIRKUK/ERBIL

  Until January of this year, our diplomatic representation in northern Iraq consisted of the British Embassy Office Kirkuk. This was co-located with the US Regional Embassy Office (REO).

  In January, the US decided to relinquish that site and move their REO to the Kirkuk Regional Air Base. We took the opportunity to reassess our diplomatic presence in northern Iraq. We concluded that it was important to retain a resident presence, in order both to engage with the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) on political developments in Iraq and the region, and also to pursue bilateral objectives, in particular voluntary and enforced migrant return programmes. We judged that this work was best conducted from Erbil rather than Kirkuk, as the former is closer to the centre of gravity of KRG politics. The security environment in Erbil also enables our staff to operate more safely and effectively than in Kirkuk.

  Since January, therefore, the British Embassy Office has moved to Erbil, and is known as the BEO Erbil. It is temporarily located at the Khanzad Hotel, just outside the city. We are considering the options for other, longer-term options for a site in Erbil and will keep the Committee briefed on any further developments.

Peter Ricketts

28 March 2007