LONDON, Sept 26: Thousands of British troops assigned for training to provide cover in the event of a strike by fire-fighters have been pulled off training in case they are needed for military operations against Iraq, the Ministry of Defence said here on Thursday.

This is the first most compelling sign that the British troops could be preparing to take part in a possible US-led military action to topple the Iraqi leader Saddam Hussain.

The ministry of defence says the move is a part of “prudent contingency planning” and stresses that no decision had been taken on any action against Saddam Hussein. The ministry says these well-trained troops were now being replaced by troops at a lower state of readiness.

An spokesman for the defence ministry said: “This is essentially prudent contingency planning to allow these higher readiness units to continue with military training and give us the flexibility to undertake operations if required.”