Fewer British troops patrol Basra after rescue row

British troops in the tense southern Iraqi city of Basra greatly reduced their presence in the streets today, apparently responding to a call from the provincial governor to sever co-operation until London apologised for storming a police station to free two British soldiers.

For the second day in a row, no British forces were seen accompanying Iraqi police on patrols of Basra, as they routinely had in the past.