President George Bush was set for a collision with his own Republican party yesterday after ignoring demands for a new Iraq strategy that would bring US troops home.

In a speech on a visit to Cleveland, Ohio, Mr Bush shrugged aside Republican criticism over the last fortnight that his "surge" strategy is not working. He refused to offer any concessions to disenchanted Republicans and insisted it was too early to judge the "surge", his deployment of an extra 30,000 US troops.

Article continues He said: "You have got all the troops there a couple of weeks ago... They have just showed up and are beginning operations in full and you have people in Washington saying 'Stop'." He added: "I believe it is in this nation's interest to give the commander a chance to fully implement [the strategy] and Congress should wait."

In a direct rebuff to his critics in Congress, he said: "Troop levels will be decided by our commanders on the ground, not by political figures in Washington DC." But the Republican revolt continued to grow, with new senators going public to express their scepticism with the "surge".

One of the few boosts for Mr Bush came from senator John McCain, fresh from a visit to Iraq, who expressed support for the president and said he had seen signs that the "surge" was working. "From what I saw and heard while there, I believe that our military, in co-operation with the Iraqi security forces, is making progress in a number of areas," he said.