Phi Wire Hand Picked Politics - Live

  • Toby Young | How do we stop young British Muslims falling into the hands ofJihadis? A new, mi...

    • source icon
    • 16:32
    • Telegraph politics blog

  • Jeremy Hunt | Speaking @TheKingsFund this afternoon on the role of primary care in the 21st ce...

    • source icon
    • 15:58
    • Jeremy Hunt

  • Graeme Archer | Graeme Archer: The Woolwich terrorist shouldn't have been given somuch publicity

    • source icon
    • 15:54
    • ConservativeHome Platfo...

  • Mark Ferguson | Woolwich: The British people – and our politicians – have risen tothe occasion

    • source icon
    • 15:46
    • LabourList

  • Just realised I've got nothing about Labour in my list of column items for Satur...

    • source icon
    • 15:19
    • Patrick O\'Flynn

  • PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers

    • Sign up to see last 24 hours

  • PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers

    • Sign up to see last 24 hours

  • PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers

    • Sign up to see last 24 hours

  • PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers

    • Sign up to see last 24 hours

  • PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers

    • Sign up to see last 24 hours

  • PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers

    • Sign up to see last 24 hours

  • PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers

    • Sign up to see last 24 hours

  • PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers

    • Sign up to see last 24 hours

  • PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers

    • Sign up to see last 24 hours

  • PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers

    • Sign up to see last 24 hours

  • PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers

    • Sign up to see last 24 hours

  • PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers

    • Sign up to see last 24 hours

  • PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers

    • Sign up to see last 24 hours

  • PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers

    • Sign up to see last 24 hours

  • PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers

    • Sign up to see last 24 hours

  • PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers

    • Sign up to see last 24 hours

  • PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers

    • Sign up to see last 24 hours

  • PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers

    • Sign up to see last 24 hours

  • PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers

    • Sign up to see last 24 hours

  • PoliticsHome | Only the latest five entries on the PhiWire are visible to non-subscribers

    • Sign up to see last 24 hours

PoliticsHome. All Todays Politics In One Place

Story Tracker

Select Story:

Straw's troop advice

Straw's troop advice
Jack Straw has confirmed that he told Tony Blair just days before the Iraq war that British troops could have been kept out of the invasion. Mr Straw told the Iraq Inquiry that a "perfectly straightforward alternative" to war was to keep troops nearby and help with any postwar effort just like the Spanish and Italian armed forces.

Mr Straw was the last person to give evidence in public to the Iraq Inquiry, and Sir John Chilcot said it would take "some months" to produce his final report on the Iraq war.

Mr Straw claimed he had had "no doubt" that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and that he was far from alone in this conviction. According to Mr Straw, "no-one was saying he hadn't got this stuff" in the run-up to the 2003 invasion.

Mr Straw also insisted that "contrary to popular myth" the Cabinet had been full of people who "thought for themselves", rather than simply following Tony Blair's lead on military action.

The former Foreign Secretary added that containment was always the Government's strategy up to the time they went to war: "Containing and removing the problem of Saddam's failure to comply with UN obligations - containment remained the overall strategy of the Government right up to the time when we decided to take military action."

Mr Straw also described the idea of a nuclear attack on Iran as 'nuts' and expressed his unease at the 'Axis of Evil' trio outlined by George W Bush in the run-up to the Iraq invasion, saying bracketing Iran with Iraq and North Korea would undermine Tehran's efforts to reach out to the West.

Related News

Green Box: Straw's troop adviceClick to open

+ Expand all - Collapse all

Recommended External Links

Full access for £22 a month...

PoliticsHome PRO Find out more

Related PRO Content

Free Trial

PoliticsHome

Live Blog: The latest from the Iraq Inquiry

02/02/2011

PoliticsHome News

Straw: UK troops could have sat out the Iraq war

02/02/2011

Latest PRO Content

Free Trial

On Air

Summaries and transcripts from TV and radio

Philip Hammond: Murder of Lee Rigby a terrible loss

9 minutes ago on Sky News

Jack Straw: Communications Data Bill might not have stopped Woolwich attacks

3 hours ago on World at One, BBC Radio 4

Baroness Warsi: Muslim communities have unreservedly condemned Woolwich atrocity

3 hours ago on World at One, BBC Radio 4

See all On Air

Commons Reports

MPs pass equal marriage bill

21/05/2013

Transcript

Prime Minister's statement on Woolwich attack

5 hours ago

See all Transcripts

Press Releases

SNP: UK Govt must talk to Scottish Govt before referendum to "help voters"

54 minutes ago

See all Press Releases

Lobby Briefings

No 10: PM echoes Hunt comments on Nicholson

21/05/2013

See all Lobby Briefings