Gordon Brown ‘regrets’ not opposing Iraq War as former PM claims he was misled on WMD in new ebook

Gordon Brown regrets not opposing Sir Tony Blair‘s drive to wage war on Saddam Hussein, according to a new biography of the ‘Iron Chancellor’.

Mr Brown has said former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook ‘had a clearer view’ than the rest of the Government of the claims, which led to Britain’s involvement in the Iraq War.

He also admitted for the first time he should have called a snap election when he became prime minister in 2007 – and claimed Sir Tony had assured him he would stand down three years earlier than he did.

Mr Brown told James Macintyre, author of Gordon Brown: Power With Purpose, Mr Cook – who quit the Cabinet in 2003 in protest – was ‘in front of us’ when he said supporters of the war were led astray when it was claimed that Hussein had a stockpile of ‘weapons of mass destruction’ (WMD).

The WMD claim was the primary reason the UK waded into the US-led war but it was later discredited.

It comes as the Labour Party under Sir Keir Starmer is debating whether it should once again support US efforts and intervene in Iran.

In 2003 Mr Brown had publicly backed Sir Tony’s decision to go to war, but now insists he was ‘misled’.

It has been widely argued in the past that if Mr Brown or another senior figure resigned with Mr Cook, it could have potentially stopped the UK’s involvement.

Former PM Gordon Brown (pictured) said he ‘regrets’ not opposing the Iraq War in a new book

Sir Tony Blair pictured during a visit to the West Bank village Zakaria near the Jewish settlement of Efrat in 2009. Gordon Brown now claims Sir Tony had assured him he would stand down three years earlier than he eventually did

Mr Brown said: ‘Robin had been in front of us and Robin had a clearer view. He felt very strongly there were no weapons.

‘And I did not have that evidence… [I] was being told that there were these weapons. 

‘But I was misled like everybody else.

‘And I did ask lots of questions… and I didn’t get the correct answers.’

And admitting he should have called a snap election, Mr Brown told the biographer he ‘made a mistake’.

Until now he has only apologised for letting election speculation run for so long.

He also claimed Sir Tony had assured him he would stand down after ten years as leader of the party in 2004 – not ten years as prime minister in 2007 – which poisoned relations between the two.

He says: ‘What I regretted is that the understanding we had was never properly honoured.’

Speaking to the author, Sir Tony lavished praise on Mr Brown, saying: ‘We used to have fun together.

‘I mean, Gordon, he has got his very serious side, but he can be immensely entertaining company.

‘The best times we had were when we were thinking through the future of Labour.

‘And it was an incredibly productive partnership.

‘And it was amazing how much I learned about politics.

‘I was very much the junior partner really, throughout all of that, the first ten years.’

Gordon Brown: Power With Purpose, will be published by Bloomsbury on February 12.