Gordon Brown flew into Baghdad today for talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and military leaders.

The Prime Minister’s surprise visit, his first since December, comes ahead of a Commons statement next week on Britain’s involvement in the country.

Mr Brown spent just under an hour this morning at Mr Maliki’s offices in talks - alone at first with him, and then with the Iraqi leader’s advisers as well.

He then moved on to the presidential palace for a 20-minute meeting with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. He will also be meeting British troops during his visit.

There are expectations of a drawdown of British troops in Iraq next year from the current level of about 4,000. Plans to reduce the level to about 2,500 by spring had to be postponed earlier this year because of an increase in fighting around Basra.

Mr Brown wants to see a series of goals achieved before the troop withdrawals, including the transfer of Basra Airport to civilian use and the staging of a local election later this year.

Military commanders say they expect troop numbers to be further reduced in 2009. At its height, the UK military engagement in Iraq saw 26,000 British troops stationed there.

Earlier this week US President George W Bush held a video conference with Mr Maliki and announced their intention to agree a “general time horizon” for the withdrawal of US troops.

A news blackout imposed on journalists travelling with the Prime Minister was lifted soon after his arrival in the Iraqi capital when the visit was widely reported by local media. The embargo had been imposed on security grounds.

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