In a question to Gordon Brown today (Wednesday 17th October) in Prime
Minister’s Question Time at the House of Commons, Michael Fabricant
sought clarification as to the exact number of troop reduction expected
in Iraq. The question was coupled with mention of the Armed Forces
Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum which was opened by the
Queen last Friday (12th October) and which both the Prime Minister and
Michael Fabricant attended.

The Question and Answer as recorded by Hansard now follows:-

Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con): Last Friday, I saw how moved the
Prime Minister and the Defence Secretary were at the opening of the
armed forces memorial near Lichfield. It has places for the names of the
16,000 men and women who lost their lives serving their country since
1945, but will the Prime Minister now take this opportunity to clarify
precisely how many troops currently in Iraq will return to the UK before
Christmas?

The Prime Minister: I join the hon. Gentleman in paying tribute to all
those who made that new national memorial possible. It is in the centre
of our nation, so friends, relatives and families from all over the
country can visit and pay tribute to those who have lost their lives
since the second world war. As he rightly says, there are already 16,000
names commemorated in the stone of what is a most magnificent statue and
memorial, which has been created using donations from large numbers of
people. I hope that all Members of Parliament will be able to help their
constituents to visit it.
The hon. Gentleman also asked about Iraq. As I have said before, the
numbers go down from 5,500 to 2,500 by next spring. They go down from
5,500 to 4,500 and then to 4,000 in southern Iraq over the next few
months.

Michael Fabricant now comments: "When he was recently in Iraq, the
Prime Minister double-counted the number of servicemen he said would
return home by Christmas; he included over a quarter who were already
back in the UK and another quarter who had already been earmarked for
return. This question gave him the opportunity to set the record
straight. Sadly he chose not to do so. Nevertheless, I welcome the
supportive remarks he made concerning the Armed Forces Memorial and its
location."