UK not ready for aftermath of Iraq war, says Army chief

THE British general who led troops into Basra during the Iraq war says the UK was unprepared for the aftermath of the fighting and that controversial Snatch Land Rovers offered no protection against Iraqi bombs.

Maj Gen Graham Binns, commander of the 7th Armoured Brigade – the Desert Rats – at the time, said Britain “over-promised and under-delivered” in trying to stabilise southern Iraq.

The long-awaited inquiry report by Sir John Chilcot into British involvement in the war is next week expected to criticise Army leaders and politicians for failures during the campaign.

Maj Gen Binns told a BBC Panorama documentary to be shown tonight that there was “no coherent plan” after the invasion to oust Saddam Hussein.

He said: “We were inadequately prepared both physically and mentally for the aftermath of the war fighting.”

The Daily Telegraph last week reported that Sir John will criticise senior Army figures for being too slow to replace Land Rovers with better protect- ed vehicles after scores of soldiers were killed or wounded.

The vehicles became known as “coffins on wheels” among troops because of the ease with which they were torn apart by homemade bombs.

Maj Gen Binns said: “The vehicles that we were using – the Snatch – were not up to the job. They didn’t have adequate levels of protection and we were slow to replace them and provide adequate protection to our people.” He said Britain was “simply not prepared for supporting the reconstruction of a city [Basra] this size”.

He went on: “I think it was entirely the right thing to do at the time. To remove the regime. I just don’t think we resourced it and had a plan that would replace it with something else.”