A British parliamentary committee has released a scathing report about planning for the Iraq war.

The influential House of Commons Defence Committee concludes that a lot has been achieved in post-war Iraq.

But it says poor planning for the continuing insurgency means British troops will remain in Iraq until at least 2006.

It says mistakes were made in planning for the post conflict situation, the insurgency was under-estimated, and security reform and the rebuilding of the Iraqi security forces should have been dealt with better and earlier.

The report does praise the approach of the British forces, the second largest in the US-led coalition.

But it acknowledges that local conditions may have helped with developments in the south, where the British operate.

The MPs say they are still concerned about the tactics of the multi-national forces in Iraq generally.

- BBC