Iraq War Cannot Be Justified - Prescott

The invasion of Iraq in 2003 “cannot be justified”, Lord Prescott – who was then deputy prime minister – has said.He told BBC One’s This Week he had backed the Iraq War because he believed George Bush had a plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
He said he could not “just disown it” but he now thought the war was wrong.
Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary William Hague has written to cabinet members urging them not to discuss the the justification for the Iraq war.
The invasion of Iraq led by US troops, in coalition with the UK and other nations, began on 20 March 2003.
Lord Prescott said that, ahead of the invasion, Prime Minister Tony Blair had been keen “to get the Americans in” on the UN’s approach to dealing with Iraq.
He said that, after Mr Blair had sent him to the US to talk to Vice-President Dick Cheney, he told the PM it was clear “They’re going to go in without you; whether you come with them or not, it doesn’t matter to the Americans – they’re getting ready”.

Lord Prescott added: “But I tell you something that persuaded me. You know Bush was quite prepared to have a plan for Israel and the whole problem in regard to Palestine and he promised. “And, therefore, that plan was something.”But Lord Prescott said the plan “fell apart as it often does in American politics because the influence domestically is too great”.
He said that, despite these factors, “at the end of the day, Tony Blair obviously said to himself, ‘I’ve promised to do this and I’m going to do it’ – and that’s today’s consequences”.

Lord Prescott added: “And I have to be part in that – I can’t just disown it. I go through my thoughts trying to justify it, but that’s… it cannot be justified as an intervention.”