Synnott: Iraq reconstruction resources underestimated

Coalition forces failed to accurately assess the level of commitment needed to maintain security after the Iraq invasion, Britain's former representative in southern Iraq believes.

Sir Hilary Synnott said he experienced an implosion of all Iraq's government and institutions after Saddam Hussein's departure when he worked in the south of the country in 2003.

"As a result the newly formed coalition provisional authority found itself attempting to govern a population of 26 million, which it could not do," he explained on BBC2's Newsnight programme.

"There was a basic fault of political analysis which led to a failure of planning based on hope rather than assessment," Sir Hilary alleged.

"There was a big mismatch there. The task was a very great one. The resources and the administration behind it was inadequate."