Iraq summons UK ambassador over remarks reflecting ‘bleak image’ of country

Iraq has summoned the UK’s charge d’affaires over remarks made by the British Ambassador to Iraq, Stephen Hitchen, which reflected a "bleak image" of the country, the country’s state news agency reported.

Hitchen made the comments on the Kurdish-owned TV channel Rudaw, where he spoke about the government facing challenges.

"The challenge for the Iraqi government is how to deal with the militias…the decision to bring the militias into the government is logical, but if a Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) member receives salaries they must also accept commands," he said.

"A soldier does not have the right to say, ‘I will follow this order, but not this one.’ This is not natural. It is not logical," he added.

During the interview, he also touched on the security situation in the country, saying that it was making it difficult for British companies to operate there and that they require “secure environments and state of law".

"There are some companies from other countries that may flourish in chaotic environments, through bribes, threats, militias. That is not our natural environment. So, if Iraq wants investment from western countries, it highly depends on protecting investment," he said.

According to the Iranian Mehr news agency, Hitchen also spoke about being on the receiving end of threats, however, did not elaborate further. 

The ambassador’s comments mark the first time such threats have been publicly acknowledged, with no prior reports from either Iraqi government officials or non-governmental sources.

In response to Hitchen's remarks, an Iraqi security official told The New Arab's sister publication, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, that the government had not received any formal notification from the British embassy regarding these threats.

The Iraqi government criticised his comments, with the foreign ministry stating he had "touched on the security and political issue that reflects a bleak picture of Iraq, it’s government and components," adding that he had "interfered" in the country’s affairs.

The statement went on to add that his remarks transcended his role and duties as a diplomat.

In the comments made to Rudaw, the diplomat also said the unstable situation in Iraq made it "difficult for me to encourage my relatives to visit Iraq in light of the threats of security chaos and the lack of control over loose weapons," Arabic language news site Arabi21 reported.

The PMF group was established in 2014 following a call from a leading Shia cleric, in response to the Islamic State group’s actions across northern Iraq.

Since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza, PMF and other groups falling under them which are backed by Iran, have ramped up attacks on US and British interests across Iraq, in a show of solidarity with Palestinians.