New British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, seeking to quash speculation that London may distance itself from Washington over Iraq, insisted on Sunday the United States was still Britain's number one ally. "It is the single most important bilateral relationship," he told BBC Television in his first broadcast interview since taking office.

"Our commitment to work with the American government in general and the Bush administration in particular is resolute," he said, stressing there was no change in tone.

Since Gordon Brown took over from Tony Blair as British prime minister last month, he has been at pains to underline there will be no cooling of Anglo-American relations -- but two of his ministers have offered mixed signals.

Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said in a speech in Washington that while Britain stood beside the United States in fighting terrorism, isolationism did not work in an interdependent world. Read More

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