UK leader denies urging apology for Iraq war
Iraq-UK, Politics, 6/25/2007

The new deputy leader of Britain's ruling Labor Party confirmed today that she had admitted she was wrong to vote for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 but denied she had called on the government to apologize for the war.

"I've never said the government should apologize," Harriet Harman said after narrowly defeating five other candidates to replace John Prescott on Sunday.

"What I've said is I actually voted for the war on the basis that there were weapons of mass destruction and I was wrong on that," Harman told BBC Radio Four's Today program.

All six candidates originally voted for the UK to join the US-led invasion, but during the closely fought campaign, she was the only one who said that she agreed with one of her rivals, backbench MP John Cruddas that her party should apologize over the war.

"I just think that if you are looking forward and you want to rebuild public trust and confidence, you have got to admit when you get it wrong," Harman said during a hustings event broadcast by BBC Newsnight.

But when pressed during her interview to clarify her comments, she insisted that what she said was that "if I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't have voted for it." "What I said was that we had to recognizse the anger and bitterness that has been caused by Iraq, and we do, whilst at the same time strongly supporting our troops," Harman replied.

"How many times can I say it? I haven't asked anybody else to do anything - I've just explained what my position is," she said when asked again.

"I have not said I will press for a public apology from the government or the Labor Party," the new deputy leader later insisted when pressed further in an interview with BBC Two's The Daily Politics.

Harman, who is currently Justice Minister, was elected as deputy to Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, who was endorsed to replace Prime Minister Tony Blair as leader at a special Labor conference convened in Manchester, north-west England.

Blair himself has continually refused to apologize for the Iraq war, despite being pressed by the media and anti-war colleagues on many occasions.

Previous Stories:
  UK urged to promote human rights in Iraq   (5/1/2007)
  Blair's 10 years in office soured by Iraq war   (5/1/2007)
  US refusing Iraq evidence at UK inquest   (4/16/2007)

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