A Foreign Office spokesman said:

The UK does not support the Kurdistan Regional Government’s aspiration to hold a referendum on 25 September. The referendum risks increasing instability in the region when the focus should be on defeating Daesh. That is why the UK has proposed new talks between the Kurdistan Regional Government and Government of Iraq on the future of the relationship between Erbil and Baghdad. Talks should be without preconditions, time limited, address all the issues of dispute between the two parties, and be backed by the international community. The UK calls on the Kurdistan Regional Government to seize this opportunity and to enter into serious negotiations with Baghdad.