Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Team in Devon call on Labour and Conservative MPs to explain their failure to stop the war

10.14.46am GMT Fri 28th Mar 2008

Liberal Democrats in Devon are calling on all of the county's MPs who failed to vote against the invasion of Iraq to support an inquiry into the war and to explain why they supported the invasion.

Five years ago, the Prime Minster and the Leader of the Conservative Party led Britain into the war in Iraq. MPs from both parties attacked the Liberal Democrats for our opposition to the invasion. The war in Iraq and the occupation of the country has proven to be the worst foreign policy decision taken by Britain since Suez.

Five years on from the start of the invasion, 175 British troops have been killed, and, according to some estimates, 600,000 Iraqis have lost their lives. The financial cost of the exercise to the UK exchequer has now exceeded £7 billion..

This was an invasion that we were told would make the world safer. We were told it was to get rid of weapons of mass destruction, weapons which turned out not to exist. We were told this was a war to end terrorism, but the threat from terrorism has increased, not subsided.

The Government, and the Conservative opposition, asked our brave men and women to put their lives at risk for no gain for either our country or the world at large. Despite assurances by Gordon Brown that our troops will be coming home, they are still in Iraq.

Liberal Democrats are urging the Government to set a timetable for the full withdrawal of the remaining UK troops from Iraq.

Next week there will be a vote in Parliament calling for a full inquiry into the origins and conduct of the Iraq war. The Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Team for Devon believes such an inquiry will give Labour and Conservative MPs an opportunity to explain to electors why they supported the invasion or, if they abstained, why they failed to stop it.

Nick Harvey MP North Devon

Adrian Sanders MP Torbay

Richard Younger-Ross MP Teignbridge

Julian Brazil PPC Totnes

Paul Buchanan PPC East Devon

Sally Morgan PPC Central Devon

Graham Oakes PPC Exeter

Adam Symons PPC Torridge & West Devon

Adrian Sanders (Lib Dem, Torbay) Nick Harvey (Lib Dem, North Devon) and Richard Younger-Ross (Lib Dem, Teignbridge) voted to stop the invasion.

Former MP David Jamieson (Lab, Plymouth Devonport) voted for the invasion while John Burnett (Lib Dem, Torridge West Devon) voted against.

Benjamin Bradshaw (Lab, Exeter), Angela Browning (Con, Tiverton & Honiton), Linda Gilroy (Plymouth Sutton), Anthony Steen (Con, Totnes), Gary Streeter (Con, Devon South West) and Hugo Swire (Con, East Devon) voted for the invasion.