"We have been approached by a local tribal leader, a sheikh," Colonel Chris Vernon told reporters here.

"The British divisional commander met him last night. He will form, at present, the leadership within the Basra province and we have asked him to form from the local community a committee that he thinks is representative of local people."

Vernon would not name the sheikh but said that he was a "worthwhile and credible" figure.

"We asked him to go away and form an initial committee to achieve a degree of civil administration."

British forces finally seized control of southern Iraq's main city on Monday after a near two-week encirclement.

Vernon said the ruling Baath party was now a spent force in Basra.

"Basra is now free and final elements of the vicious Baathist control is now extinguished."

He said that British forces would now seek to prevent a repetition of the widespread looting that was seen in Basra on Monday.

British forces did not intervene in the looting spree because their primary mission was combat, he said.

Vernon also said that there was no humanitarian crisis within the city where there were sufficient food supplies to last the population until the end of May.

But he said that the British forces would try to increase supplies of drinking water.

The city was "not dysfunctional," he said, and British forces hoped to hand back day-to-day affairs to local officials.

Iraqi police officers had already approached the British to offer their assistance and the British were keen to work with local security authorities provided they had not been tainted by any connection to the Baath party, Vernon said.

SPACE.WIRE