TWO Iraqi MPs visiting Newton Abbot last week, praised English democracy and said they would be taking the lessons they had learnt back home. Dr Ijra Faisal Oda and Ms Jinan Abdul Jabr al Abrisam were among a group of eight visiting Westminster, the Welsh Assembly and various non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Both are Shias, the dominant Islamic group in Iraq. Dr Oda is a member of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), representing Baghdad. SCIRI is one of the two main Shia parties and remains committed to the US-led intervention. Ms al Abrisam, from Basra, is a member of the Islamic Dawa Party, the national party of opposition. Their last day in the UK was spent in Teignbridge on Friday as guests of Richard Younger-Ross MP. Speaking through an interpreter, Dr Oda said they had been impressed with Westminster and the sophistication of local government. 'We have local government, but it is simpler and less well developed. We are still at the beginning of our democracy after the overthrow of the dictatorial regime.' Ms al Ebrisam, also a member of the Basra Provincial Council said: 'We have benefited a lot from western and American NGOs, who have been working in our society, and some men and women from Basra have gone on training courses in some of these countries.' She drew parallels between Basra, Iraq's only outlet to the sea, and Teignbridge, joking: 'I wish that the place I was born in and educated in could be similar to this area in Devon.' The group visited Connexions, an advice and information centre for 13-19-year-olds, where they heard a presentation on getting young people into learning and work. The next stop was the CCTV command centre to see the western-style approach to tackling anti-social behaviour. At the MP's request, they visited the local police station, where they met Chief Insp Chris Stephens to talk about community policing. The visit was rounded off with a roast lamb dinner at the Mount Pleasant Inn, Dawlish Warren, before the party headed back to London. Mr Younger-Ross visited Iraq in January as part of a Foreign Select Affairs Committee fact-finding mission into the political, military and security situation. The purpose of the two MPs visit was more open-ended – to gain a better understanding and to see what support is available from the UK to help in stabilising their fledgeling democracy. 'It went very smoothly and they asked a lot of questions – always a good sign,' he said.