Government is in 'Political Paralysis' over Iraq, says Campbell

8.51.09pm UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 19th Apr 2007

Liberal Democrats against the Iraq war

The government is gripped by "political paralysis" over Iraq, Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Ming Campbell told the Today programme this morning. "I can't remember the last time I heard a senior... minister on your programme defending the policy in Iraq," said Sir Ming, pointing out that senior figures, like Cabinet minister Hilary Benn, had distanced themselves from the phrase "war on terror".

And he said comments by former minister Helen Liddell that Iraq had never been part of the "war on terror" appeared to "undermine the whole philosophy the prime minister has used". Sir Ming repeated calls for British troops to be withdrawn from Iraq, saying: "I accepted a moral obligation, but that moral obligation cannot be open-ended and we have a moral obligation to our own young men and women." Yesterday nearly 200 people died in a string of attacks in Baghdad