Security staff who make up a private army in Iraq

There are 44,000 private security contractors in Iraq, forming what the US Senate dubbed the "largest private army in the world".

About 21,000 of those private guards are British - approximately three times the total number of British troops in the country.

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Many are former British soldiers, some of whom had left the forces early lured by the high wages - a thousand dollars a day tax free.

There are also large numbers of Americans, South Africans, Zimbabweans and Gurkhas working forprivate firms in Iraq.

The jobs they do, although lucrative, are among the most dangerous in the world. Some firms are now pulling out of Iraq because of the sheer risks involved.

Garda World, the Canadian company which employed the British guards kidnapped yesterday had taken over the work in Baghdad after acquiring Kroll Security International. Its parent company wanted to offload the business as it said the contracts had become less profitable and more dangerous.

The Foreign Office's main contracts in Iraq are with Armor Group and Control Risks, who are regarded as the "blue chip" end of the security business.

The charity War on Want accused the British government of reneging on pledges to control private security companies and "privatise the war" - letting contractors take over duties while drawing down the number of UK forces.

The British security industry, strongly deny the charge that their personnel abuse their power in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. They say those allegations are out-of-date and rules have been drawn up to ensure professional standards.

Many in the private sector have, however, expressed alarm about the types of recruits attracted by the money. Robin Horsfall, a former SAS trooper and security guard said "former soldiers are working alongside people who have been involved in nightclub security and have very limited experience. It's because a lot of contracts only demand that you can prove you have got six week's security experience".