ITV News Index

ComRes interviewed the British public on behalf of ITV News

Date Published: 18 Mar 2013

Categories: Energy | International | Media | Politics | Public and communities | Technology & Telecoms

Description

PUBLIC BELIEVE TONY BLAIR LIED ABOUT WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION AND SAY BRITAIN WAS WRONG TO TAKE PART IN IRAQ WAR

As we approach the ten year anniversary of the start of the Iraq war, a recent ITV News poll, conducted by ComRes, reveals that just one in five British adults (20%) think that Britain was right to take part in the war in Iraq, while almost three times as many (58%) say that it was wrong to do so.

Strong doubts remain over the motivations behind the Iraq War. Almost six in ten (57%) think Tony Blair deliberately lied about the threat of Iraq stockpiling weapons of mass destruction and a similar proportion (59%) disagree with those who claim that it ‘doesn’t matter’ that no weapons of mass destruction were found.

The removal of Saddam Hussein is generally seen positively. Nearly half of British adults (46%) say that Iraq has benefited from the removal of Saddam Hussein. More also agree (43%) than disagree (31%) that Britain should be proud of its role in his removal (although 26% don’t know).

However, for most British adults, these benefits have come at too high a cost. A majority (51%) agree that the removal of Saddam Hussein was not worth the lives of 179 British soldiers and a majority also agree (52%) that the Iraq war cannot be morally justified on humanitarian grounds given the number of Iraqi civilian casualties.

Furthermore, rather than make Britain safer, over two-thirds (69%) think that Britain’s participation in the Iraq war has increased the threat of a terrorist attack on British soil