Sri Lanka's leader has said his government is ready to investigate any allegations of war crimes and human rights abuses against his forces.
It comes after Prime Minister David Cameron called on President Mahinda Rajapaksa to conduct an independent inquiry by March into claims of war crimes - a deadline set by UN human rights chief Navi Pillay.
The UN and rights groups say as many as 40,000 civilians may have been killed in the final stages of the civil war against the rebel Tamil Tigers in May 2009.
But the country's president Mahinda Rajapaksa has denied any civilians were killed.
And up to now he has blocked all calls for an independent probe into claims of war crimes committed by government forces against the Tamil population in the northern Jaffna region.
He told reporters there had already been a series of measures including a commission looking into missing people.
He said: "We will take our time and we will investigate into nearly 30 years of war."
The PM's visit is the first by a foreign leader to the region since 1948 He added: "If there are any allegations we are ready to inquire into it. We have nothing to hide. It's a free country. We need time to settle things".
Mr Cameron is pressing the regime to do more to improve conditions for the Tamil minority and he met Mr Rajapaksa on Friday to discuss the human rights issue.
The PM said Mr Rajapaksa wanted more time to address the claims, but put him on notice to deliver by March or he would push for an international investigation through the auspices of the UN human rights council.
During his trip to Sri Lanka, Mr Cameron went to the war-scarred north of the island - the first visit by a foreign leader to the region since 1948.
He met families still unable to return to their homes after spending 20 years in refugee camps and was mobbed by protesters who claim relatives were murdered by the state.
The PM insisted he had given a "fair reflection" of the need for improved human rights after cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan suggested he had been given a false picture of his country.
David Cameron pits his batting skills against Muttiah Muralitharan The spin bowling great, who is a Tamil, said Mr Cameron had been "misled" about the latest situation in the north.
Mr Muralitharan said: "I'm a sportsman and we don't think about politics. My opinion is, there were problems in the last 30 years in those areas.
"Nobody could move there. In wartime I went with the UN, I saw the place, how it was. Now I regularly go and I see the place and it is about a 1,000% improvement in facilities."
At a news conference at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) in Colombo, Mr Cameron said the human rights issue would remain high on the international agenda.
He said: "The Sri Lankan government needs to go further and faster on human rights and reconciliation.
"I accept it takes time but I think the important thing is to get on the right track. This issue is not going to go away, it's an issue of international concern."
In response to Mr Cameron's comments, a senior Sri Lankan minister reaffirmed that the country's government would "definitely" not allow it.
Economic development minister Basil Rajapaksa, who is the president's brother, said: "Why should we have an internal inquiry?
"We will object to it ... Definitely we are not going to allow it."
Mr Cameron acquitted himself well when he pitted his batting skills against some "Murali" deliveries at a cricket ground in Colombo.
They were there to talk about the sportsman's initiative to bring together youngsters from Tamil and other communities through cricket as part of post-war reconciliation efforts.
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