UK officers at their HQ in Surrey say the civilian uprising in Basra has gone mysteriously quiet.

British forces initially reported the uprising yesterday, saying this could be the start of a major domino effect across Iraq. However, later they said it had perhaps been less of an uprising and more a group of rioters, after all.

The very latest news is that the civilians are more likely to have been a number of people waiting for a bus, although it's highly likely, said one source, that it was actually just a little old lady off to buy some vegetables.