Britain's Brown Says Time for New Ideas in Iraq

Prime minister-in-waiting Gordon Brown said on Friday it was time for a "new front" in British policy on Iraq.

Prime minister-in-waiting Gordon Brown said on Friday it was time for a "new front" in British policy on Iraq and he would learn from mistakes that had been made there. Finance minister Brown, formally announcing his candidacy to be Britain's next leader, said there should be greater emphasis on political reconciliation and economic development so Iraqis felt they had more of a stake in their future.

He said he would consult the Iraqi government and people in the next few weeks and then suggest new ideas.

Prime Minister Tony Blair ended months of speculation on Thursday by saying he would step down on June 27 after 10 years in power, triggering a party leadership contest that Brown looks certain to win.

Blair's departure was hastened in part by public anger over his dogged backing for the U.S-led war in Iraq.

British media has been rife with talk that Brown may speed up the withdrawal of British troops from Iraq. His attitude towards Britain's close relationship with Washington will also be closely watched.

"I do think that over the next few months the emphasis will shift. We've got to concentrate more on political reconciliation in Iraq, we've got to concentrate more on economic development," Brown told a news conference.

"I accept that mistakes have been made. ... I'll be listening to what the government of Iraq say and what people on the ground say over the next few weeks."

Brown said he planned to visit the Middle East and British forces in the region in coming weeks.

He said Britain would keep its obligations to the Iraqi people, but added he would look at new parliamentary procedures for dealing with peace and war -- acknowledging public mistrust at the decision by Blair's government to go ahead with a very unpopular war.

The new policy would mean "everybody can be clear that there is full and open debate and proper accountability of government in all these major decisions," he said.

Asked if British policy on Iran was working, Brown said he believed existing sanctions were having an effect and would not shy away from ratcheting them up if needed.

World powers have slapped two rounds of sanctions on Tehran as punishment for its defiance of United Nations' demands that it stop uranium enrichment work the West believes is at the centre of a secret atom bomb plan.

"In the next 20, 30 days we will have to reconsider the situation and that is exactly what we will do, based on a united international opinion, a determination to work together with our allies -- and particularly with America -- and an assurance that we will continue our policies of sanctions so that they work."