A British Army source in Kuwait contacted me to explain how the extraordinary surrender bid unfolded. The source said: "The British guys on the front-line could not believe what was happening. They were on pre-war exercises when all of a sudden these Iraqis turned up out of nowhere, with their hands in the air, saying they wanted to surrender.

"They had heard firing and thought it was the start of the war.

"The Paras are a tough, battle-hardened lot but were moved by the plight of the Iraqis. There was nothing they could do other than send them back.

"They were a motley bunch and you could barely describe them as soldiers - they were poorly equipped and didn't even have proper boots. Their physical condition was dreadful and they had obviously not had a square meal for ages. No one has ever known a group of so-called soldiers surrender before a shot has been fired in anger."

UPDATE: Then again, the British troops may not be the best-equipped force in the world either:

Not all the Challenger II tanks, which broke down on exercised in Oman last year, have been adapted for desert use.

And the replacement of the SA80 rifle, which showed a tendency to jam in dusty conditions, is not complete so some troops are likely to still be armed with it.

But what is less well known is that soldiers are also short of even the most basic of kit - their boots.

Liberal Democrat defence spokesman Paul Keetch is in Kuwait where some British troops are already stationed.

He says he has been shocked to learn how short of equipment the British are.

They have acquired, he says, the nickname "The Borrowers" because the borrow so much from the Americans.

Yikes.