Blair's Iraq revelations question basis for Iraq war

12.57.00pm GMT Mon 14th Dec 2009

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair's revelation that he would have gone to war regardless of the existence of WMDs undermines the whole basis of the war, according to Julian Tisi, Windsor's Liberal Democrat parliamentary spokesman. Appearing on the BBC the former Labour Prime Minister revealed that he would have been in favour of launching the invasion of Iraq anyway.

Julian Tisi responded "Going to war is the most serious decision a Government can make. These revelations are in stark contrast to the warnings issued to Iraq in the build-up to the war, that if Saddam Hussein gave up his weapons he would remain in power. This is in stark contrast to the massive efforts made to convince the British public by the publication of the dodgy dossiers that were later shown to be extremely questionable. Clearly he was absolutely determined to launch this illegal, immoral and unjustified invasion no matter what the evidence or reason."

"The Liberal Democrats stood alone in parliament against the war at the time, as both Labour and Conservative MPs flocked to back Bush and Blair's war. We said the legal and moral basis was questionable, the case was not proven and that international support must be forthcoming. Now we see that Blair would have launched this war regardless of the evidence, which many of us suspected at the time."

"In his desire to launch a disastrous invasion that has killed hundreds of our troops, hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians and destabilised an entire region and emboldening Iran, Tony Blair wrote the legacy of the New Labour project. The violent destruction of Iraq is what the history books will remember from his premiership."