Political elite finds a new home out of harm's way

Iraq's elite quietly slips into exile

Richard Beeston and Ned Parker
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Many of Iraq’s leading politicians have moved quietly back into self-imposed exile in Britain because of the dangers of living and working in Baghdad.

Half a dozen senior figures, including former prime ministers, Cabinet members, and even the heir to the Iraqi throne, have relocated to fashionable areas of London. Scores of other politicians living in Iraq have kept second homes in London as possible bolt holes.

The move has angered Iraqis back home, who complain that they are the same exiled politicians who argued hardest for the US-led invasion.

Adnan Pachachi, the former head of the Iraqi Governing Council and a serving MP in the Iraqi Parliament, said that living and working in the Iraqi capital had become almost impossible. He divides most of his time between his flat in Chelsea and his home in Abu Dhabi.

“Baghdad is very difficult. We have to live in the green zone [protected by US forces]. People can’t come and see us and we can’t get out to see them,” he said. CONTINUED

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