BBC: Iraq war made UK 'less safe,' say most Britons

The Iraq war has had the opposite effect of Prime Minister Tony Blair's declared intentions and made the UK a more dangerous place to live in, according to most Britons.

A poll conducted for the BBC to mark the fourth anniversary of the war today found that only 5 per cent of the British public believed the 2003 invasion made Britain a safer place. Some 55 per cent, including 57 per cent of women, said the war made the UK less safe. Over a third had no view of it making any difference either way.

The findings also showed that six in 10 respondents believed that the decision to take military action against Iraq was "wrong," compared with only 29 per cent who said they still thought it was right.

Given the experience of the war, more than half of Britons said that they would distrust the government if it said military action were needed elsewhere because a country posed a threat to national security.

Almost a quarter said that they would disagree even with British troops taking part in overseas missions such as disaster relief or to stop genocide. The BBC poll also found other implications in that 50 per cent believed that the war was important in influencing how they might vote at the next general election, compared with 47 per cent who said it was not an important factor.

Speaking on the anniversary of the war, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell, said that both of Britain's main parties, who supported the invasion, "need to show that they have learnt from the failure."