The man expected to follow in Tony Blair's footsteps as British prime minister says he will pursue an Iraq policy that is not as closely linked to that of the U.S.
Treasury Chief Gordon Brown promised he would be "very frank" with U.S. President George Bush and admitted mistakes were made after Iraq was invaded.
Brown also said Britain is likely to reduce troop numbers in Iraq over the next year -- a stark contrast to the U.S. which is considering sending thousands more soldiers, at least temporarily, to the war-torn nation.
"I look forward, if I am in a new position, to working with the president of the United States, George Bush," Brown said. "Obviously, people who know me know that I will speak my mind. I will be very frank. The British national interest is what I and my colleagues are about."
Blair has faced tough criticism for his strong support of Bush and the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Brown's comments Sunday, which were aired by the British Broadcasting Corp., appeared to be intended to set him apart from the current prime minister.
Blair has said he plans to step down from his position by September and Brown is widely considered to be his successor as leader of the governing Labour party, which will automatically make him the new prime minister.
In the interview, Brown also likened the battle for the hearts and minds of young Muslims to the battle against communism for the previous generation.
And he told the BBC the execution of Saddam Hussein had done nothing to stop violence in Iraq.
Saddam was taunted in his final moments before being hanged -- a moment that was captured by cell phone video and quickly appeared on websites around the world -- evoking tough criticism of the way the execution was carried out.
"Now that we know the full picture of what happened, we can sum this up as a deplorable set of events," Brown told the BBC. "It is something, of course, which the Iraqi government has now expressed its anxiety and shame at."
Blair also broke his silence on Saddam's hanging, saying through his spokesperson on Sunday that the way Saddam's execution was carried out was "completely wrong."
Brown is credited with having helped Blair breath new life into the Labour party and has been in charge of Britain's treasury since 1997. He said the parliament would have a stronger role under his leadership, with a greater ability to hold the government to account.
In the interview Brown said there should be an inquiry into the aftermath of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, though he didn't say what form it should take.
"There are lessons to be learned, particularly from what happened immediately after Saddam Hussein fell," he told the BBC.
"One is that in Iraq itself there is absolutely no doubt -- and I think people will agree on this in time -- that the passage of authority to the local population should have begun a lot earlier, so they had to take more responsibility for what was happening in their own country."
He said there was no doubt that the battle against Islamic extremism and terrorism cannot be won unless the hearts and minds is successful first.
Britain has about 7,000 soldiers in southern Iraq, mostly stationed in Basra.
He also said that by the end of the year, he thought Britain's troop commitment would be reduced by thousands.
With files from The Associated Press
