LONDON - Mercenaries working for private companies could be used as peacekeepers when the international community is reluctant to intervene in crises or quick action is vital, a parliamentary committee was told Tuesday.

Tim Spicer, a former British army colonel who gained notoriety for running a mercenary operation that was active in Sierra Leone and other nations, said mercenaries could even be used for "peace enforcement" — using military force to stop fighting or unrest. Peacekeepers tend to be deployed once actual fighting has stopped.

"I think, in certain circumstances where the (British) government of the day didn't wish to deploy British troops or didn't have the capacity to do so, there is a case for some form of intervention force purely to stabilize the situation and prevent loss of life," he told the committee.

Giving evidence to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Spicer welcomed a recent government report suggesting future United Nations ( news - web sites) peacekeeping operations could be contracted out to mercenaries working for private military companies.

The problems of putting together an international force from various nations means that the U.N. did not have a good record when troops were needed urgently, Spicer said.

A stabilization force from a private company could give the international community a "breathing space" to assemble a peacekeeping operation, he said.

Spicer, who now runs a company called Strategic Consulting International, said concerns about mercenaries' respect for human rights could be addressed by regulations.

"There really is a good and honorable side to most private military companies and an understanding of what is right and wrong and which side they should be working for," he said.

(ren/ej)