Gordon Brown has told the Chilcot inquiry that the decision to invade Iraq in 2003 was "the right decision for the right reasons", firmly defending the actions of Tony Blair. Appearing before the inquiry for four hours, the former chancellor insisted that "everything that Mr Blair did during this period, he did properly", and that he had been fully involved in the run-up to the invasion.
Mr Brown expressed sadness at the "huge loss of civilian life" in Iraq, but said the war was necessary to deal with a "post-cold war era in which we had both terrorism and aggressor states like Iraq". He described Iraq as "a persistent serial violator" of 14 UN resolutions and took aim at the neo-conservative approach of the Bush administration, saying he "never subscribed" to the idea that "at the barrel of a gun, overnight liberty or democracy could be conjured up". His only major regret, he said, was failing to persuade the Americans to handle the aftermath differently.
The former prime minister also rejected criticism that he had deprived the armed forces of equipment, telling the inquiry that "every requirement made to us by military commanders was answered; no request was ever turned down". He claimed he had been forced to rein in the Ministry of Defence in late 2003 because its budget management had spiralled "out of control", but said requests for heavily armoured vehicles in 2006 had been met at a cost of £90m. The total cost of the war, he said, was £8bn.
His comments drew sharp rebukes from former military figures. Admiral Lord Boyce, chief of the defence staff until the invasion, told The Times that Mr Brown was "dissembling, being disingenuous", adding that the MoD had been "starved of funds". Colonel Stuart Tootal, former commander of 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, said he was "quite staggered by the lack of any sense of responsibility", noting that Mr Brown "was the man with the purse strings".
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said the appearance was "the day Gordon Brown finally had to come clean and admit that he believes the Iraq war was right", questioning how the public could trust someone who still regarded the "illegal war" as justified. The inquiry also heard that Mr Brown did not see private correspondence between President George Bush and Mr Blair, was not told of the attorney general's initial doubts about legality, and only became seriously involved in invasion planning in June 2002. He criticised the "excessive informality" in decision-making and implicitly suggested that Parliament should have been consulted before the cabinet made its choice.
