The company roll-call of post-war profiteers includes some of the best known names in Britain's boardrooms as well many who would prefer to remain anonymous. They come from private security services, banks, PR consultancies, urban planning consortiums, oil companies, architects offices and energy advisory bodies.

Among the top earners is the construction firm Amec, which has made an estimated £500m from a series of contracts restoring electrical systems and maintaining power generation facilities during the past two years. Aegis, which provides private security has earned more than £246m from a three-year contract with the Pentagon to co-ordinate military and security companies in Iraq. Erinys, which specialises in the same area, has made more than £86m, a substantial portion from the protection of oilfields.

The evidence of massive investments and the promise of more multimillion-pound profits to come was discovered in a joint investigation by Corporate Watch, an independent watchdog, and The Independent.

The findings show how much is stake if Britain were to withdraw military protection from Iraq. British company involvement at the top of Iraq's new political and economic structures means Iraq will be forced to rely on British business for many years to come.

A total of 61 British companies are identified as benefiting from at least £1.1bn of contracts and investment in the new Iraq. But that figure is just the tip of the iceberg; Corporate Watch believes it could be as much as five times higher, because many companies prefer to keep their relationship secret.

The waters are further muddied by the Government's refusal to release the names of companies it has helped to win contracts in Iraq.

Many of the companies enjoy long-standing relationships with Labour and now have a financial stake in the reconstruction of Iraq in Britain's image. Of the total profits published in the report, the British taxpayer has had to meet a bill for £78m while the US taxpayer's contribution to UK corporate earnings in Iraq is nearly nine times that. Iraqis themselves have paid British company directors £150m.

The report acknowledges that British business still lags behind the huge profits paid to American companies. But, in two fields, Britain is playing a critical and leading role.

The threat from the Iraqi insurgency means British private security companies are in great demand. Corporate Watch estimates there are between 20,000 and 30,000 security personnel working in Iraq, half of whom are employed by companies run by retired senior British officers and at least two former defence ministers.

The biggest British player, Aegis - run by Tim Spicer, the former British army lieutenant colonel who founded the security company Sandline - has a workforce the size of a military division and may rank as the largest corporate military group ever assembled, according to the report. Other private security companies have sprung up overnight to protect British and American civilians.

Britain is also playing a leading role in advising on the creation of state institutions and the business of government. PA Consulting, which has also received a contract for advising on the Government's ID cards scheme, worth around £19m, is now a key adviser in Iraq.

Adam Smith International, a body closely linked to the right-wing think-tank used by Margaret Thatcher, has been heavily involved in the foundation of the Iraqi government and continues to influence its newly formed ministries. According to the Tory MP Quentin Davies, who visited Iraq, the advisers are "reordering Iraqi government operations at the most basic level, to help restructure some of the Iraqi ministries, in fact physically restructure them, even suggesting how the minister's office should be laid out".

Another favourite of the Thatcher governments, now involved in Iraq, is Tim Bell, who ran the Tories' election campaigns in 1979, 1983 and 1987. His PR firm Bell-Pottinger has been involved in advising on the 2004 elections and a strategic campaign to promote bigger concepts such as the return of sovereignty, reconstruction, support for the army and police, minority rights and public probity.

Loukas Christodoulou, of Corporate Watch, has been monitoring British business relations with Iraq since the invasion. He says in his conclusion to our joint report: "The presence of these consultants in Iraq is arguably a part of the UK government's policy to push British firms as lead providers of privatisation support. The Department for International Development has positioned itself as a champion of privatisation in developing countries. The central part UK firms are playing in reshaping Iraq's economy and society lays the ground for a shift towards a corporate-dominated economy. This will have repercussions lasting decades."

In five years, the £1.1bn of contracts identified in the report will be dwarfed by what Britain and the US hope to reap from investments. Highly lucrative oil contracts have yet to be handed out.

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Top 10 firms profiting from Iraq

The Independent
13 March 2006

1. AMEC £500m

It is a global project management company specialising in the oil and gas and engineering sectors. In Iraq, it is or has been: subcontractor on the $154m (£89m) Fluor contract to restore electrical power systems (February 2004); a joint contract with Fluor to "provide design-build services for construction, rehabilitation, operation, and maintenance of power generation facilities" worth $500m from Usaid (March 2004); a joint contract with Fluor to "provide design-build construction services for water resource projects" worth $500m and $600m from Usaid (March 2004); an unknown sum from a Centcom contract.

2. Aegis £246.5m+

It is perhaps the biggest UK success story in Iraq, having won the $430m Pentagon contract to oversee all private security operations. Yet Aegis has been rejected once for membership of the International Peace Operations Association, a trade association that prefers to style its sector the "peace and stability industry".

3. Erinys £86m+

Based in London, Erinys specialises in security for the petroleum, construction and mining industries. In Iraq, it has been responsible for the creation of an oil protection force. Between August 2003 and December 2004, Erinys Iraq trained, equipped and mobilised a 16,000-strong Iraqi guard force to protect the pipelines.

4. Petrel Resources (Anglo-Irish) £56.6m

It is a London and Dublin listed oil and gas exploration company, with current operations focused on Iraq where it is seeking licences to run three existing oil wells.

5. HSBC £36.88m

HSBC is the third biggest financial institution in the world. Has bought 70 per cent of a recently established Iraqi bank, Dar es Salaam Investment Bank, which has assets of $91.1m. HSBC's share is therefore £36,881,225. Its profit from Middle East business rose 25 per cent in 2004.

6. Cummins UK £25.8m+

The world's largest manufacturer of diesel engines has been awarded contracts worth $45m from sales to power stations in Iraq.

7. PB Power £24.88m

The global engineering and construction firm won a $43.4m contract to provide programme management office support for the electrical services sector.

8. Control Risks £23.5m+

The risk consultancy business helps companies with everything from capital raising to crisis management. It provides governmental and corporate clients with security management, discreet armed protection, and information support. Its contracts included: an unknown proportion of $500m; subcontractor for Parsons Usaid buildings contract (March 2004); £23.5m from UK Government for protection squads; figure disputed by CR (March 2004). More than 250 personnel in Iraq (June 2005).

9. MerchantBridge £22.07m

It is is an investment banking group focusing on telecommunications, real estate, construction, financial services, information technology and hotels in Iraq. "Lead adviser" to Iraq's Ministry of Industry and Minerals for factory lease programme (January 2004); launched Mansour Bank (September 2005), capitalised at $38.5m; 90 per cent from Iraqi investors.

10. Global Risk Strategies £15.4m (at least)

Risk management company, which advises on all aspects of corporate security, including counter-terrorism strategies. It has its headquarters in Hampton, Middlesex. It assists with humanitarian aid and reconstruction projects in the aviation, oil, banking and infrastructure sectors. Has 2,000 staff in Iraq. Received $27m contract to distribute new dinar (May 2004); guarded part of Baghdad airport (May 2004).

The high-profile players

LT-COL TIM SPICER (RETIRED) OBE

Former Scots Guards, former SAS, Spicer is chief executive of Aegis, a private security firm. He founded Sandline, along with Simon Mann (who is now jailed for plotting a coup in Equatorial Guinea)

NICHOLAS SOAMES

The former Defence minister (from 1994-97), is a non-executive director of Aegis

MAJ-GEN JEREMY PHIPPS (RETIRED)

Former SAS, former head of British special forces 1989-1993. Previously linked to the consultancy group Control Risks, Phipps is now the head of Aegis operations in Iraq

SIR MALCOLM RIFKIND

The Tory former defence secretary is a non-executive director and chairman of Armor Group, which has been awarded £11.4m of public contracts in Iraq

HARRY LEGGE-BOURKE FORMER CAPTAIN IN WELSH GUARDS

Friend of Prince Charles and brother of Prince William's nanny. Former aide-de-camp to chief of defence staff. Operations chief for Olive Security - turnover almost doubled in 2004.

GENERAL SIR MICHAEL ROSE

Commander of the 22nd SAS regiment, 1979-82. Commandant of school of infantry, of staff college, Camberley, and first Director special forces, 1988-89; non-executive director of Control Risks Group

TIM BELL

His firm Bell-Pottinger was awarded a £3m by the British Government to promote democracy in the run-up to the 2004 elections. His company is closely involved in campaign to promote concepts such as return of sovereignty

SIR JEREMY GREENSTOCK

One of Britain's foremost diplomats, he is a non-executive director of De la Rue, a financial services company which has won one of the biggest contracts in Iraq for printing the new Iraqi dinar

BARONESS BLACKSTONE

Former minister of state, appointed a non-executive director of the Mott MacDonald Group in 2005. The engineering consultancy was given a £1.2m contract from DfID for infrastructure work in Iraq.

GEORGE ROBERTSON

Former secretary general of Nato and former Labour defence secretary, is a non-executive director of Weir, the engineering company, which was involved in contract doing oil assessments. Has been in Iraq since May 2003

The other UK interests in Iraq

Adam Smith International, Consultants, £4,1m; AD Consultancy,security; Aggreko, power supply; AKE Group, security; Alstom, power; Armor Group, security, £11.4m; Baker Wilkins, construction; Bell-Pottinger, consultants, £3m; Birks Sinclair & Associates, "socio-economic development"; B-Plan Information Systems, computers, £4.5m; BP Global, petroleum, £2.8m; British Council, teaching, £3.1m; Chiltern Broadcast Management, media, £1.3m; Conren, materials, £20,000; Costain, construction, £15m; Crown Agents for Overseas Government, procurement, consultants, £8m; Datasat, telecomms; De La Rue, financial; DfID: anonymous contractors, £1,1m; Dynamic Processing Solutions, petroleum

£12m+ (approx); Eaton Electric Europe, power; Enterplan Ltd, consultants, £4.5m; Eris, consultants, £61,012 ; European Land Solutions, security, Exploration Consultants, petroleum; Foster Wheeler UK, construction, power, £4.87m; Halcrow, construction, £6.8m; Hart Group, security; Hedra Consortium, consultants, £245,540; HTS Development (now HTSPE), consultants; Inclarity Plcc telecomms, most of its £18m revenue from Iraq; Janusian, security; Kroll Associates, security; Llewelyn Davies Yeang, architects, unknown proportion of £1.6m development; Maxwell Stamp consultants, £3.2m; Minimum Risk, security; Mott MacDonald, power and water, £1.2m; Mowlem, construction, £3m; Olive Security, security; PA Consulting Group, consultants £427,548; Powertecnique, power; Schneider Electric UK, power; Scott Wilson, engineering, unknown share of a $160m contract; Serco, services, £7.5m; Shell (Anglo-Dutch) petroleum; Siemens, power; Solace Enterprises, consulting; Standard Chartered, financial services; TQ Education & Training, education, £5.73m; United Mesopotamia, security; Weir, petroleum