British-educated Surgeon is New Iraqi Prime Minister

A British-educated neurosurgeon who spent 30 years in exile in Britain, and who has close links with both the CIA and MI6, was named as Iraq's new interim prime minister last night.

Ayad Allawi, 58, the head of the Iraqi National Accord (INA), emerged as Iraq's surprise new leader after weeks of speculation and intrigue.

Earlier this year the INA said it had provided "in good faith" the raw intelligence from a single source that was used to support the claim that Saddam Hussein was able to deploy weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes of the order.

The INA said later it had presumed that MI6 would verify the claim.

Dr Allawi will head Iraq's new caretaker government when the US-led coalition hands executive authority to Iraqis on June 30.

News of his appointment leaked out yesterday afternoon after Iraq's US-appointed governing council voted unanimously to recommend him as its choice.

Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN's special envoy to Iraq, was taken off-guard by the announcement of the decision, which he had originally planned to make before the UN security council next month. A spokesman for Mr Brahimi, acknowledged that he was not present when Mr Allawi was chosen, but said that he would "respect" the governing council's choice.

Council members said Dr Allawi's knowledge of security and defence would be invalu able in the difficult months ahead. "I think he is the best compromise candidate," Mahmoud Othman, a leading member of the council, said. "Let's face it, security is our biggest headache. Mr Allawi knows the security issues. This will be a big plus."

Other observers were also enthusiastic. Laith Kubba, a veteran Iraqi liberal who is now at the US-based National Endowment for Democracy, said Dr Allawi would be a unifying choice. "He has reached out to Sunni and Shia as well as Kurds."

However, Dr Allawi's close links to US and British intelligence agencies will not make him a popular choice for many ordinary Iraqis.

A secular liberal who comes from Iraq's Shia majority, he is a former member of the Ba'ath party who fell out with Saddam Hussein and spent the next two decades trying to overthrow him.

With little sign of an end to Iraq's rampant insurgency, he now has an unenviable task - to try and nudge Iraq back to normality at a time when the Anglo-American occupation is more hated than ever. Having survived an assassination attempt in 1978, when Saddam's agents tried to hack him to death, his biggest challenge will arguably be to stay alive.

Last week the president of Iraq's governing council, Izzedin Salim, another moderate Shia leader, was blown up and killed by a suicide bomber.

The Iraqi resistance is likely to dismiss Dr Allawi as an American stooge and try to kill him. Either way, his tenure as prime minister will be brief, until elections next January when a new prime minister will be chosen.

Last night the Bush administration welcomed his candidacy. The US administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, congratulated him after his nomination by the governing council, aides said. Mr Brahimi is expected to announce more names shortly to fill the posts of president and two deputy presidents, as well as a new interim cabinet.

Mr Brahimi will also unveil details of an interim national council, which will scrutinise new legislation.

Last night sources suggested that Sheikh Ghazi Ajil Al-Yawar, a widely respected Sunni tribal leader, was likely to be offered the job as president, with a Kurd as his deputy.

During his exile Dr Allawi enjoyed strong support from officials in the CIA and US state department, who were wary of the Pentagon's favourite, Ahmad Chalabi. He is related to Ali Allawi, Iraq's defence minister.