LONDON: The UK is likely to phase out soon the use of all cluster bombs by Britian’s Armed Forces, a statement by Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s official spokesman on Wednesday hinted as much, electrifying the participants at the Dublin international conference on the subject.

The Dublin conference is being held with the aim of reaching a treaty prohibiting the use of cluster bombs. Human rights activists interpreted the PM’s statement as a significant switch in British policy. The conference is being attended by representatives of 100 countries, but with notable absentees — the United States, Russia and Israel among them.

The Downing Street spokesman said that the prime minister had asked the ministry of defence to review the risk to civilians posed by the last two remaining weapons deployed with the armed forces, the artillery-fired M85 and the helicopter-launched M73.

Mr Brown’s spokesman said: “The prime minister has issued instructions to our negotiators that we should work intensively to ban cluster bombs that cause unacceptable harm to civilians. The prime minister has asked the MoD to assess the remaining munitions in use [the M85 and M73] to ensure that there is no risk to civilians. We are clear that our forces will always operate in strict accordance with international humanitarian law.”