Despite the government initially blocking the debate in March they have backed down and allowed time for the landmark debate to take place next week. MPs will demand to know how former Prime Minister Tony Blair was able to push through a "flimsy case" for British involvement in the Iraq War in 2003. A cross party bid led by Green MP Caroline Lucas has successfully secured a six-hour debate to take place in Parliament on Thursday (13 June) - giving today's MPs the chance to interrogate the process which took the UK into war.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Parliamentary vote to go into Iraq and 10 years since the US-led invasion, which led to the toppling of Saddam Hussein, began. The Chilcot Inquiry, established in the aftermath of the conflict in 2009 by Gordon Brown, is yet to report and there are signs it could now be further delayed until after the next general election in 2015.
Caroline Lucas (Green), who led the application for a debate to the Backbench Business Committee with support from MPs including Rory Stewart (Con), Paul Flynn (Lab) and Charles Kennedy (Lib Dem), said: "Despite the huge controversy over the way the UK was taken to war in Iraq in 2003, there has never been a full and totally independent inquiry into the decision. British troops may have ended Iraqi combat operations in 2009, but serious questions remain about many aspects of the conflict, including allegations of systemic abuse of Iraqi detainees. With ongoing delays to the reporting of the Chilcot Inquiry, it is critical that the public does not see Parliament just sitting back and ignoring the 10-year anniversary of this devastating conflict."
Turning to aftermath of the war and legacy Dr Lucas said: The legacy of the Iraq invasion is still with us today, and on crucial factors such as exit strategies and so-called 'mission creep', the experiences in Iraq clearly hold great relevance for our handling of current conflicts. We owe it to the servicemen and women and all those who have lost their lives in Iraq - not to mention the millions of people who marched against the war - to carefully examine what happened, in order to learn the lessons of arguably the most damaging foreign policy decision of recent times."
