Gordon Brown is to face calls for a full independent inquiry into the origins and conduct of the Iraq War, as he gives MPs details of his plan to bring British troops home after six years and 178 deaths.
The Prime Minister is set to deliver a statement on Iraq to the House of Commons, a day after his surprise visit to the country in which he declared that virtually all troops will be withdrawn by the end of July next year.
Mr Brown has repeatedly said that the time for an inquiry into the war will come after the end of active military operations by British troops.
Following his announcement that military operations will end by May 31 at the latest, opposition parties are likely to seek the fullest possible review into the decision-making process that led Britain to join the US-led invasion in 2003 and the handling of the war itself and its aftermath.
Standing in for Mr Brown at Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons, Leader of the House Harriet Harman said: "We've had a number of inquiries into Iraq and the Prime Minister has said there will be no further inquiries until our troops are all returning home."
Shadow foreign secretary William Hague told her: "The Government has delayed for years the establishment of an inquiry and now the learning of lessons that may be relevant to Afghanistan and elsewhere can no longer be delayed."
The United Nations mandate for British forces to remain in Iraq expires at the end of this month, but the Iraqi council of ministers agreed a new resolution on Tuesday allowing them to stay until the end of July.
It is thought that a phased withdrawal will take place, with a few hundred troops remaining in the country for training and mentoring duties.
Mr Brown is expected to give further details of the timetable for withdrawal in his oral statement to MPs on the final day the House of Commons is sitting before the Christmas recess.
