Lib Dems in Westminster call on Mark Field MP to apologise for Iraq vote

6.39.27pm GMT Thu 20th Mar 2008

In key votes on 18th March 2003, Mark Field and Conservative MPs like him voted to send British troops into Iraq. Without their votes, the Commons would have rejected military action.

Local Liberal Democrats are calling on Cities of London and Westminster MP Mark Field to apologise for his support for the invasion of Iraq.

Commenting, chair of the local LibDems Mark Blackburn said, "Exactly five years ago, British troops were invading Iraq. The Conservatives were the cheerleaders for military action, and local Tory MP Mark Field voted for the war. At the time, Labour and Conservative MPs joined forces to attack the Liberal Democrats for our unified opposition to the invasion.

"Today, five years on from the invasion, it is absolutely crystal clear that the war and the ensuing occupation were the worst foreign policy decisions taken by any British government for decades. Mark Field backed it when he voted for war on 18th March 2003.

"£7 billion of public money has been lost on this appalling venture and, according to some estimates, 600,000 Iraqis have lost their lives as a result.

"And we should never forget that 175 of our brave troops have lost their lives too, which is a desperately sad sacrifice.

"Without the support of Mark Field and his Conservative colleagues the Labour Government would have lost the vote in Parliament. Without them and their votes, the UK would not have joined in this disastrous war.

"This was a war that we were told was meant to make the world safer. We were told it was to get rid of weapons of mass destruction, weapons which turned out not to exist. We were told this was a war to end terrorism, but the threat from terrorism has gone up, not down.

"Those British troops who remain in Iraq today are no longer serving a useful purpose. The Government are asking our brave men and women to continue to put their lives at risk for no gain for either our country, or the world at large. Despite assurances by Gordon Brown that our troops will be coming home, they are still in Iraq.

"I am calling on Mark Field to join the Liberal Democrats in urging the Government to set a timetable for the full withdrawal of the remaining British troops from Iraq."