London: Britain's new army commander said British troops in Iraq are making the situation worse and must leave the country soon, calling the prime minister's policies "naive," according to an interview.
"Our presence exacerbates the security problems," Gen Richard Dannatt was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail newspaper. The interview was released on the tabloid's website on Thursday.
"Whatever consent we may have had in the first place from the Iraqi people has largely turned to intolerance," he said, according to the report.
The Defence Ministry responded to the interview by saying, "We have a clear strategy in Iraq. We are there with our international partners in support of the democratically-elected government of Iraq, under a clear UN mandate."
Prime Minister Tony Blair's office said it couldn't immediately comment on the matter.
Dannatt's comments are certain to infuriate Blair, who has steadfastly backed US President George W Bush's Iraq policy, saying it was morally right.
The comments are highly unusual - it is believed to be unprecedented for a sitting British military commander to publicly criticise the government's foreign policy.
Dannatt said that Britain's presence in the country was "exacerbating" security problems domestically, contrary to Blair's stated claims that the war in Iraq had no link to the terror threat facing Britain.
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