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LONDON, Friday (Reuters) Advance parties of British troops will begin deploying to Kuwait within two weeks in preparation for a possible attack on Iraq, the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on Friday.

The paper quoted defence sources as saying the deployment would begin after the British parliament's emergency debate on support for U.S. action on Iraq on September 24.

Britain's Ministry of Defence described the report as "highly speculative", saying any decision on sending troops to the Gulf would be dependent on the response the United Nations gives to Thursday's demand for action from U.S. President George W. Bush.

"The report is highly speculative. There are no plans for a deployment in the next two weeks and obviously George Bush is pursuing the U.N. route before any decision on military action is taken," a spokeswoman told Reuters.

Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair -- Bush's closest ally -- warmly welcomed the U.S. president's hawkish speech to the United Nations on Thursday.

The Daily Telegraph said any attack on Iraq would take place next year at the earliest as it would take at least three months for British tanks to get to Kuwait.

The paper said that in the meantime pressure would be piled on Iraq by stepping up air patrols over the country's no-fly zones. 

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