The development, described by the commanding officer involved as of "deep concern," led to fears over the extent to which the Basra police have been infiltrated by Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army, a group with strong links to Iran.

Violence erupted in Basra Monday after British forces sent two tanks to a police station to rescue the arrested men. An angry crowd attacked the tanks with firebombs and rockets, setting them alight. Reports said two Iraqi civilians were killed and three soldiers injured.

Iraqi authorities said that the soldiers - possibly working undercover - were arrested for allegedly shooting dead a policeman and wounding another. The BBC later reported reliable sources as confirming the men were members of the Special Armed Services.

However police did not hand over the men to coalition authorities - as required by Iraqi law - despite orders from Iraq's Interior Ministry to do so, the MoD reported Tuesday.

Brigadier John Lorimer said in a statement: "I had good reason to believe that the lives of the soldiers were at risk and troops were sent to the area of Basra near the police station to help ensure their safety by providing a cordon," he said.

"As shown on television these troops were attacked with firebombs and rockets by a violent and determined crowd.

"Later in the day, however, I became more concerned about the safety of the two soldiers after we received information that they had been handed over to militia elements."

After troops broke into the police station and discovered the men were not there, they staged a rescue from a house in Basra, the commanding officer continued.

"I'm delighted that the two British soldiers are back with British forces and are in good health," Lorimer said.

But he added: "It is of deep concern that British soldiers held by the police should then end up being held by the militia. This is unacceptable."

Tim Collins, a former commander in Iraq, said the incident demonstrated how deeply police had been infiltrated by the Mehdi Army, which in turn was "heavily influenced" by the Iranians.

But Haydar al-Abadi, a spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, criticized the British Army's decision to break out its troops in the way that it did.

He told a press conference that there was a "lack of discipline" in the area of Basra, but that the rescue was "unfortunate."

"It is a very unfortunate development that the British forces should try to release their soldiers the way it happened, it's very unfortunate."

Basra Governor Mohammed al-Waili said more than 10 vehicles and helicopters had been used in an operation that was a "barbaric act of aggression;" the MoD confirmed that a perimeter wall had been destroyed during the operation but denied initial reports that some 150 prisoners had escaped as a result.

The office of the Iraqi prime minister later released a statement stressing that there was "no crisis" with the British government. An inquiry into the incident would be conducted by the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior, it said.

However the events led to renewed calls within Britain for Parliament to consider a strategy for troop withdrawal.

Liberal Democrat Leader Charles Kennedy said the breakdown of relations with Iraqi security forces confirmed the country was sliding towards civil war.

And Lib Dem Foreign Affairs Spokesman Sir Menzies Campbell, who Monday called for an end to the "occupation" of Iraq, said that the incident would make future cooperation of the type that was necessary extremely difficult.

However if the commanding officer involved was satisfied that lives were at risk, he had "no option" but to rescue the troops, he said.

Menzies-Campbell stressed that he was not calling for an immediate exit from Iraq or even deadlines for doing so, but said an exit strategy was necessary.

"You cannot avoid the perception of occupation, and occupation is provocative," he said. "I don't think it's difficult to support the judgment that in fact the insurgency is getting worse and not better."

He agreed Britain had a moral obligation to provide security for the people of Iraq, but said it also had an obligation to its own forces. There should be no open-ended commitment, he said.

"These are searing images, soldiers with their uniforms on fire leaping out of burning vehicles," he added.

Such images will do nothing to bolster public support for the war; a conflict which a sizeable majority of Britons says is at least partially to blame for the July bombings in London.

Even the most warmongering of British newspapers had strong words for the government Tuesday. The tabloid Daily Mirror said it was time to get British servicemen out of this "trap," while the Daily Express said that if Britain's "brave boys" were unable to defend themselves it was time to pull out.

The Daily Mail's leader column acknowledged that it had argued in the past that to "cut and run" would have been "utterly immoral."

But now, it said, events in Basra have shown this "debacle" cannot be allowed to continue.

The government made clear, however, that it did not consider withdrawal a palatable option.

Defense Secretary John Reid said in a statement: "We remain committed to helping the Iraqi government for as long as they judge that a coalition presence is necessary to provide security."

While it would be "disastrous" to remain in Iraq as an occupying force indefinitely, he said, an immediate pullout would be equally so.

He was backed by Conservative Leader Michael Howard, who expressed support for the government's aims.

However the government had to be honest about the true situation in Iraq, and the extent of the Iranian influence in the south of the country, he said.

Likewise, ministers had to explain who would decide when to leave Iraq and on what basis, Shadow Defense Secretary Michael Ancram added.

As Parliament returns next month and the bad news from Iraq looks set to increase, the pressure to at least lay out criteria for withdrawal will no doubt keep mounting.

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