LONDON, April 1, 2008 (AFP) - Britain is to announce Tuesday that there are no current plans to reduce troop levels in southern Iraq, following a recent flare-up around Basra, reports said.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced in parliament last October that Britain hoped to reduce troop levels from 4,100 to 2,500 in the spring but media said that has been called into question by the recent fighting.

Defence Secretary Des Browne is to make a statement on Iraq in the House of Commons at 3:30 pm (1430 GMT), the Ministry of Defence confirmed, but declined to comment on the reported announcement.

The BBC reported he would say that there are no current plans to cut troops in Iraq, while the Guardian daily said on its website that Browne was expected to 'abandon plans' to cut the number of British troops in Iraq.

Under former prime minister Tony Blair, Britain controversially joined the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein, but Brown had made clear his strategy of cutting troop numbers since taking office last June.

The move has led to reported strains between London and the administration of US President George W. Bush, which last year launched a 'surge' strategy aimed at reducing violence still gripping the country five years after the war.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said in Baghdad Tuesday that the recent crackdown on Shiite militiamen in Basra was a 'success' and that 10,000 extra troops would be recruited to keep order in the southern city.