From The Telegraph: “I can’t say I am sorry about it. I am not sorry about it. I think I did the right thing.”
He added: “The attorney general came to Cabinet. He was there. We had a discussion at Cabinet about it.
“You can go on forever trying to prove there’s some conspiracy, some plot. There wasn’t. There was a judgment – a judgment that might be right, it might be wrong, but I had to take it.
“I believe I made the right judgment. I believe the country is better with Saddam in prison and not in power.”
And from The Guardian:
The prime minister urged people to listen to the voices of the Iraqi people before judging his action. “Listen to their voices and they will tell you the change that has come about in their country and what hope they now have,” he said.
I do hope he’ll go on the offensive about Iraq if the Tories and Lib Dems continue with ‘Blair Lied’ as their election strategy.
They really have nothing to do say about the future of Iraq.
Update: Charles Kennedy today:
Asked whether he would have left Saddam Hussein in power, Mr Kennedy said weapons inspectors should have been given more time in Iraq.
He also suggested there was a body of evidence to suggest the Saddam regime was “becoming untenable”, although did not name any specific report.
….The BBC’s Andrew Marr asks if the world is not a better place without Saddam Hussein. Mr Kennedy reminds him that the PM promised the Iraqi dictator he could stay if he handed over his WMD.
Like I was saying yesterday, the Lib Dem position on the war is now don’t mention the Iraqis.