Shadow of Iraq war lies over Westminster as MPs consider US-Israeli attack on Iran

Shadow of Iraq war lies over Westminster as MPs consider US-Israeli attack on Iran Despite rebukes from Donald Trump, many MPs back Keir Starmer’s stance so far, and say lessons from conflict in Iraq must not be forgotten C alvin Bailey keeps his Iraq medal, issued to members of the British armed forces who served as part of Operation Telic, safe in a drawer in his home. It features a clasp, given to personnel who were part of the very first wave of flights to leave British bases to invade Iraq in March 2003. So when the Labour MP for Leyton and Wanstead spoke at a meeting between Labour MPs and the prime minister on Monday evening, people listened. “I was exposed to and aware of all the things that were happening in the lead up to the invasion of Iraq, the groupthink, the sense of unstoppable momentum,” he said on Tuesday. “If you look at what is happening right now, it’s materially different to 2003, but I think I can speak with adequate weight and credibility.” As Keir Starmer wrestles with the domestic and global implications of offensive strikes by Israel and the US on Iran over the weekend, the shadow of the Iraq war lies heavily across Westminster. In the House of Commons on Monday, Starmer assured MPs that the government remembered the “mistakes of Iraq” and would always operate on a “lawful basis” and with a “viable thought-through plan” to the crisis erupting in the Middle East. It is a position consistent with the argument put forward by Starmer QC in the pages of the Guardian in 2003. “Flawed advice does not make the unlawful use of force lawful,” he wrote. He also noted: “Military commanders on the ground will not thank the government if any action they take is later judged to have been in breach of international law.” Bailey, a former wing commander with 24 years of service, recognises that there are many younger MPs who came of age in the era of the Iraq war, but he wants to send them a message: agonising over Tony Blair’s decision to support the US i...