Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram said the figure was part of the �847m total cost of operations in Iraq in the financial year up to 31 March 2003.

He was not able to give the cost of munitions for this financial year.

This was because it was not known how much stock would remain unused, he said in a written reply.

The minister told Plaid Cymru's Westminster leader Elfyn Llwyd that from the beginning of hostilities on 20 March �61m of missiles and bombs were launched and dropped and �32m worth of ammunition was fired.

But the vast majority of the money spent in the last financial year was spent in the lengthy build-up to the war.

Mr Ingram also said that the Ministry of Defence was seeking an extra �1.2bn of government funds to cover costs associated with "urgent operational requirements" and to cover peacekeeping.

Last week Chancellor Gordon Brown said that the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had cost the UK �5.5bn.

Mr Brown had set aside a special reserve of �3bn in this year's Budget to cover the cost of UK involvement in Iraq.

The government has always been bullish about tackling the cost of the war in Iraq, despite the continued attacks on coalition forces and instability in the country having major budgetary implications.