LONDON (AP) – The government denied a news report yesterday that said Britain’s military chiefs have requested permission to withdraw an 850-strong British battalion that was moved to central Iraq to support US forces in their attack on Fallujah.

“It’s idle speculation,” a spokesman for the British Ministry of Defence told The Associated Press. “There is no basis in fact,” he said on condition of anonymity.

In a pool report from Camp Dogwood, the temporary British base for the redeployed Black Watch battalion southwest of Baghdad, The Independent newspaper quoted unidentified British military commanders as saying they want its soldiers withdrawn from their role of supporting American forces now that the Fallujah operation is drawing to a close.

The report quoted sources saying that General Mike Walker, the British chief of defence staff, already has informed US officials about this request and that any decision to keep Black Watch in its current positions much longer would be “militarily irresponsible”.