Iraq war linked to terror, says former ambassador

Saturday, 5 November 2005 12:00 AM

The Iraq war fuelled terror attacks in the UK, Britain's former ambassador to the US has said.

Sir Christopher Meyer told The Guardian "there is plenty of evidence" that "home-grown terrorism was partly radicalised and fuelled" by Iraq.

The former ambassador, in Washington from 1997 to February 2003, said: "Don't tell me being in Iraq has nothing to do with it. Of course it has."

He said he backed the invasion to topple Saddam Hussein in Baghdad, but criticised how the aftermath was handled.

"I don't believe the enterprise is doomed necessarily though, God, it does not look good," he said.

"A lot of people think what we are going to end up with is precisely what we did not want."

Sir Christopher, who sat in on key meetings between President Bush and Mr Blair in the run-up to the war, is about to publish his memoirs.

But local government minister David Miliband, on Radio 4's Today, attacked Sir Christopher's comments: "Christopher Meyer, I think I am right in saying, is an expert on foreign policy.

"He is not an expert on the domestic issues that are going on inside communities in this country."

Sir Christopher compared Blair with Margaret Thatcher's attention to detail.

"It was terrifying to be summoned into her presence because if you did not know your stuff she would expose you," he said.

"There was never that danger with Tony Blair."

But he also said that it would be wrong to see Blair as "an empty vessel".

"By God, in British politics, when on top of his game, his speeches are incredible," he said.

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