HAMPSHIRE'S top police officer has spoken about his experience in Iraq following a visit looking at the country's police force.

Chief Constable Paul Kernaghan spent sleepless nights in soaring temperatures as he examined the state of the Iraqi police force.

Speaking to the Daily Echo, he told how he flew out on May 13 and his first stop was Basra International Airport, the headquarters and temporary home of the British Army who remain out there.

He then moved on to Baghdad, where he stayed in one of Saddam's famous palaces and was confronted with murals of Iraqi missiles blasting into the sky.

Mr Kernaghan said: "My main job out there was looking at the Iraqi police, but when I say the word police it does not conjure up the same image as what you would immediately think of over here.

"They are corrupt. They would not investigate a crime unless you bribed them. They are a major issue.

"During my time there I spoke to a senior Iraqi police officer who pointed at his uniform and told me this was Saddam's uniform. When people see it they think of Saddam. It was very militaristic. They are not there to serve the community, they are there to serve Saddam and his cronies."

Mr Kernaghan made the trip with a foreign diplomat and a superintendent from North Wales.

Mr Kernaghan, who will now submit a report and recommendations to the government, has no plans to return to Iraq.