The BBC report, which did not say how it arrived at the figures, claims that during 2005 alone, 377 people deserted the UK armed forces and are still missing. Further claims made in 2006 are that another 189 are on the run and some 900 have evaded capture since the Iraq war started in March 2003.

John McDonnell MP for Labour in Hayes & Harlington in the London Borough of Hillingdon, told Parliament recently that the "number of abscondees has trebled since the invasion of Iraq." His comments came in objection of a new Armed Forces bill that would make refusal to participate in the occupation of a foreign country punishable by a sentence of up to life in jail.

The BBC cited lawyers who represent troops at courts martial as saying that a growing number of soldiers are seeking advice about avoiding service in Iraq, even if they want to stop short of deserting.

Among them was Justin Hugheston- Roberts, who represented Flight Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith, sentenced to eight months in jail for refusing to follow orders in connection with a deployment to Iraq.

"As part of my day-to-day job, I am approached regularly by people who are seeking to absent themselves from service. There has been an increase, a definite upturn," Hugheston- Roberts was quoted as saying.

Ben Griffin, a member of the elite Special Air Service (SAS), told his commanding officer this year he was not prepared to return to Iraq because he said he saw US forces carrying out what he thought were illegal acts. Griffin, who was allowed to leave the military, was quoted as saying that the Americans "had a complete disregard for Iraqi lives and property."

The Defense ministry recorded
2,670 AWOL cases in 2001,
2,970 in 2002,
2,825 in 2003,
3,050 in 2004,
2,725 in 2005 - 2004 and
26 through April of 2006.

Further statements by the ministry attempt to show a contrast between a soldier going AWOL and deserting their post, saying that on occasions, a soldier may face domestic circumstances which prevent them from reporting for duty. "I don't have a breakdown of figures of what people cite exactly for going AWOL. But there is no evidence to suggest it's operations," whether in Iraq, Afghanistan or elsewhere, the spokeswoman told news agencies. There are about 8,000 British troops in Iraq, based around the southern city of Basra. A total of 111 British personnel have died in Iraq since the 2003 invasion.