British Prime Minister Tony Blair Tuesday ruled out the withdrawal of British troops from Iraq, saying the way to defend the innocent in Iraq "is not to retreat, to withdraw, to hand these people over to the mercy of religious fanatics or relics of Saddam."

At the ruling Labour Party's annual conference in England's south coast city of Brighton, Blair said "eight and a half million Iraqis showed which future they wanted when they came out and voted in January's elections."

Blair also defended his partnership with US President George W.Bush, saying "Britain should remain the strongest ally of the United States."

Disquiet about Britain's involvement in Iraq has grown since Sept. 19, when British troops were attacked by rioters in southern city of Basra while attempting to rescue two comrades who had been detained by Iraqi police.

A survey published on Saturday by the British newspaper The Independent indicated that about 57 percent of British believe that the country's troops should be pulled out of Iraq immediately.

A Sunday report by The Observer newspaper said that British troops will start a major withdrawal from Iraq next May according to detailed plans to be published next month.

According to the newspaper, the plans drawn up by Britain and the United States will be presented to the Iraqi parliament in October.

Britain, a staunch US ally in the Iraq war, has some 8,500 troops positioned in Iraq, with most of them based in the south of the country near Basra.

Source: Xinhua