AN Alton prospective Parliamentary candidate has issued a "direct challenge" to her Tory opposite number, Michael Mates MP, asking for him and his party to oppose the deployment of British troops to areas of Iraq under American control.

Liberal Democrat Ruth Bright, who will be looking to steal the East Hants constituency from Mr Mates in the next general election, went to the House of Commons last week to present a letter questioning a move which she sees as being politically motivated.

Mrs Bright said: "We do not believe that the government has made a convincing case for putting our troops at further risk.

"Further deployment should only come at the request of British commanders on the ground and only for the purposes of fulfilling more effectively the role that our troops already have."

The letter follows a recent interview on BBC News 24 in which Mr Mates said: "If there are more casualties then more casualties will have to be accepted."

This week, an 850-strong group of British soldiers led by the 1st Battalion The Black Watch began moving north from the significantly less hostile city of Basra into an area south of Baghdad known as the "triangle of death".

Mrs Bright believes the move is "a political decision rather than military one" and has more to do with US President George Bush wanting to project an image of a "united-front" in Iraq in the run up to the forthcoming presidential election.

"What we are particularly worried about here, and especially considering the small number of troops involved, is obviously the proximity to the US election on November 2," she said. "We believe it is a political decision with a big 'P'."

She argues the decision to move the troops should have been "discussed, debated, and voted on in the House of Commons".

On the involvement of British troops in Iraq as a whole, Mrs Bright said: "I'd like to see UN forces rather than British forces there, long term. Although, the Liberal Democrats have made it very clear that we respect the troops in their role there, we did oppose the initial involvement in Iraq."

However, Mrs Bright emphasised that, by questioning the government's reasons for taking the British Army into war in Iraq, the Liberal Democrats were in no way calling into question the "calibre, ability and experience" of troops currently based there.

"The Liberal Democrats have been more than happy to pay tribute to the soldiers in their current role, but we believe that there must be American forces who are able to carry out these tasks and, as I say, we believe that there is something else going on here."

Asking for the Tories to "clarify their position", she said that a letter was also sent on behalf of her colleague, prospective Parliamentary candidate Adam Carew, who in turn issued the same challenge to his opposite number, James Arbuthnot, MP for North East Hants.

The Conservative MPs have since rebuffed the challenges.

In a letter to The Herald, Mr Mates and Mr Arbuthnot branded as "mischievous" both Liberal Democrat candidates' attempts to make "political capital" out of an "entirely military decision".

They said that Liberal Democrat opposition in Parliament to "all aspects of the war in Iraq is well-known" and that, while they respected "those who believe firmly that the action taken by coalition forces to free Iraq from Saddam Hussein's murderous dictatorship was wrong", they took "a different view".

"It is not for parliamentarians – or politicians anywhere – to dictate how the military should best be deployed to meet local circumstances," the letter said. "That is entirely a matter for military commanders on the ground.

"Both the United States general and the British general agreed that this move for the First Battalion of the Black Watch was in the best interests of all the coalition forces.

"Had there been any political interference or pressure on this decision, we are in no doubt that our commanders would have objected forcefully. All are happy that this is the correct decision although, naturally, it is one which the Black Watch will approach with some apprehension. But they will, of course, acquit themselves in the highest tradition of the British Army."

The statement went on to argue that it "would be quite wrong" for politicians to start voting as to whether "purely military decisions" should be taken.

"It is not for us to interfere in decisions which may affect the lives of soldiers doing their best in a very difficult situation."

The two MPs argued that they have both had "hands-on experience of political supervision of our services", with Mr Arbuthnot serving as Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence, and Mr Mates as a former, long-time chairman of the House of Commons Defence Select Committee.

"All those politicians with whom we have worked and who understand these matters would agree that it is not for us to interfere in such decisions as these," the letter concluded.