British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon has said no "political" decisions had been taken on a US-led operation to overthrow Saddam Hussein.
Mr Hoon refused to comment on reports suggesting military commanders in Britain and the US were unhappy at the idea of a full-scale invasion of Iraq.
But he did emphasise that British military commitments elsewhere in the world were reducing - with the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and Sierra Leone and plans to scale back the international military presence in the Balkans.
"The reports are a long way ahead of the political decision-making," he said during a lecture at the Royal United Services Institute in London. "There have been no political decisions taken and there have been no decisions on the contribution of forces on the ground in Iraq."
Mr Hoon also stressed the importance of the British armed forces keeping up with developments in the US so they could continue to operate alongside the Americans.
PA