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PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers
PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers
PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers
PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers
PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers
PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers
PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers
PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers
PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers
PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers
PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers
PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers
PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers
PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers
PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers
PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers
PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers
PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers
PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers
PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers
Monday 14th December 2009 | 15:30
A majority of political insiders say they would not have supported the Iraq War if it was know that there were no WMDs in Iraq.
Blair said in an interview with Fern Britton on the weekend that he still would have thought it right to invade Iraq, even if he knew Saddam Hussein possessed no weapons of mass destruction.
At the time, he relied on the support of the majority of MPs and influential voices in Westminster.
Today, 58% of the Phi100 panel - made up of leading MPs, peers, journalists, strategists, think tank leaders and academics from all parties - say they would not have supported the war under these circumstances. Only 37% said they would have done.
Left-, Lib Dem- and non-aligned panellists say they would not have supported the war in these circumstances, though a narrow majority of right-aligned panellists would have.
A left-aligned strategist said, “Blair 'unsealed the deal' with the British people when they stopped believing that he genuinely thought there were WMD in Iraq.”
A right-aligned think tank leader said, “No, certainly not.”
A non-aligned journalist said, “I would still have supported it, but it is stupid and arrogant of Blair to do an interview in that way at this time.”
Summaries and transcripts from TV and radio
16/05/2012 on Newsnight, BBC Two
16/05/2012 on BBC News
16/05/2012 on PM, BBC Radio 4
16/05/2012
Billy Blofeld
Blair is evil.
Gordon Brown and Ed Balls are cast from a similar mould. They are all in politics for themselves - and not the best interests of the country.
A disgusted ex-soldier
The Blair- Brown axis (Hitler and Goring) of evil has destroyed a thousand years of civilisation in this country and have brought us down to the status of countries like Somalia and the Sudan both morally culturally and economically.
Blair to me and many is simply a war criminal who should be tried at the Hague and Brown sent back to Scotland never allowed again in England.
riddler
Is it only me who thinks that new labour have put this country back decades and have ruined it with immigration for probably ever,until those of us who can remember beyond the 90s are pushing up daisies
Surrey ABC
Like a lot of people. I was willing to go along with Blair, with his assurances that there were WMDs and there was information 'too sensitive' to show. However, my doubts were raised with Dr Kelly's death as the opposition was rather supine in questioning Blair's points. This suggests that they were given information too, that was not all there. More digging methinks.
As the years pass by, it really does look as if it was the greatest Foreign policy blunder, since the Second War War. At least Suez, proved an operational success, somethnig that can not be said for Iraq.
Mrs.Josephine Hyde-Hartley
Am I alone in wondering what's a "political insider" when it's at home?
david
I see that the Govt are to coach schoolchildren tocount cash -Does that mean that Govt will be going io school?
Barbara
Saddam Hussain fooled them all, intelligence was flawed and they were hell bent on war; and the rest is history. Bush was hell bent on getting Saddam after he insulted his father in the Gulf war, and Blair imagined himself as a world leader and postured himself on the world stage and that blinded his mistake. In the glory of the Iraq war they all thought they were well set, but it all turned sour, the victory was ill thought out and we know the rest. For us here in England we just had to watch the coffins arrive and shed a tear, for the relatives it is much worse and all the while we think 'did he betray us'. For me the war then and now is a serious mistake, and we should bring those boys and girls home, after all for the social engineering on immigration they have done is far more damaging than retreat, we need those troops here to fight the war we are raging within and we should all open our eyes, don't be fooled by their tales of multicultrism, it isn't working and never will. So, who will save this country of ours that's the ? we should all be asking? Not any of those who occupy parlieament a the present time, we should look to the past, and then dump the lot and start anew, new party, new faces fresh start. Let them see it's our country and the will of the people will be heard, it might be our last chance before the monster EU gets it's final grip.