Blair Tries To Backtrack After Saying Iraq Is “Pretty Much A Disaster”...

The Independent Francis Elliott and Colin Brown November 18, 2006 08:40 PM

Gordon Brown was left defending Britain's presence in Iraq yesterday as Tony Blair denied he thought that the invasion had been a "disaster". Interviewed on al-Jazeera on Friday, Mr Blair was asked if he thought that the military intervention had been "pretty much of a disaster". "It has," he replied, before blaming the difficulties on al-Qa'ida-inspired insurgents.

But the Prime Minister's spokesman yesterday insisted that his apparent concession was a "straightforward slip of the tongue". The fall-out from the gaffe overshadowed the Chancellor's first visit to Iraq, where he pledged £100m of reconstruction aid over the next three years. Mr Brown had hoped that his visit would reassure soldiers and the serving public that a government led by him will have a clear strategy to bring troops home from a stable Iraq.

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