"Iraq in the end should not be run by the Americans, should not be run by the British, should not be run by any outside force or power," he told MPs in his weekly question period in the House of Commons.

"It should be run for the first time in decades by the Iraqi people," he said in his most strongly-word statement yet on what Iraq should look like once Saddam's regime has fallen.

Blair reiterated Britain's determination to see that any interim post-war administration in Iraq is endorsed by the United Nations, amid concern that Washington intends to put Americans in charge in Baghdad.

Post-war Iraq should be run "by Iraqi people on basis of a broadly representative government that protects human rights and that is committed to peace and stability in the (Gulf) region," he said.

"I am quite sure that is what the vast majority of the Iraqi people want to see," he added.

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw was traveling Wednesday to Berlin, then on to NATO headquarters in Brussels, for talks focusing on post-war Iraq and its reconstruction.

Blair promised MPs that, apart from his Wednesday question periods, he would be making a major statement in the Commons on Iraq before it rises for a two-week Easter recess on April 14.

With a decisive battle for Baghdad imminent, Blair said British forces -- who are focusing on the main southern city of Iraq -- had performed "absolutely magnificiently" in the war that began March 20.

"We can take immense pride in them," he said.

But he ruled out any reinforcements for the 45,000 soldiers, sailors and air force personnel from Britain who are deployed in the Gulf.

"We don't believe at the present time that we need additional troops. We believe we have the troops to do the job but of course we keep this under constant review," he said.

In a morale-boosting announcement, Blair also said that families of British troops in the Gulf would be able to send parcels to their loved ones "entirely free of charge ... entirely free of charge."

Many relatives had complained bitterly that the cost of mailing packages to the Gulf was so high that it sometimes outstripped the value of the gifts wrapped inside.

SPACE.WIRE