Blair's Former Deputy PM Says Invasion of Iraq Was Illegal

John Prescott, who served as deputy prime minister under Tony Blair, wrote Sunday that he had arrived at the conclusion that the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was illegal.

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Writing for the Mirror, Prescott said that he took his “fair share of blame” for his role in pursuing regime change in Iraq.

“A day doesn’t go by when I don’t think of the decision we made to go to war … I will live with the decision of going to war and its catastrophic consequences for the rest of my life,” wrote Prescott.

While serving as deputy prime minister, Prescott was an ardent supporter of his boss, former Prime Minister Tony Blair, and of the invasion.

However, Prescott said he held concerns about the way the cabinet was run under Blair, saying that members “were given too little paper documentation to make decisions.”

Prescott's about-face is the latest fallout from the release of the Chilcot Report, which detailed the deceptions and intelligence failures that led to the vote that saw the U.K. join the United States in its efforts to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq.

The former deputy prime minister also criticized Blair's closeness with the United States and then President George W. Bush. 

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Prescott said Blair's commitment to the invasion was “devastating” and gave the Bush government “all the Americans needed to go in, without UN support.”

He praised Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for apologizing on behalf of the party.

Sky News reported that Corbyn "probably would" support a motion to hold Tony Blair in contempt of Parliament over the Iraq invasion. 

Conservative Member of Parliament David Denis said he would would submit a motion to that effect.

"It's a bit like contempt of court. Essentially by deceit," Davis told the BBC.

“If you look just at the debate alone, on five different grounds the House was misled, three in terms of the weapons of mass destruction, one in terms of the UN votes were going, and one in terms of the threat, the risks,” said Davis.

The motion must be accepted by the Speaker of the House of Commons before it can be taken up by parliamentarians.