A senior military figure has confirmed that the army has been told to prepare for a 'very long presence indeed in Iraq', a BBC report quoted defence ministry sources as saying on Tuesday.

The sources in the 7-Armoured Brigade, which is the main British army formation going to the Gulf, said they have been asked to protect the United States forces during an invasion and to deal with war prisoners. They are unlikely to be on the frontline.

The brigade will be responsible for peacekeeping for eight months and then will be replaced by other British troops. About 31,000 troops have already left for the Gulf and around 4000 marines more are to be sent.

A war with Iraq is expected to be short with Saddam Hussein's subordinates refusing to obey orders once the invasion begins.

The situation after the war, however, would be more difficult and the country would be divided into various sectors, with the UK responsible for one of them.

Officially, the defence ministry said that contingency planning was on and any speculations would be premature.