Shadow of Iraq war lies over Westminster as MPs consider US-Israeli attack on Iran

Calvin Bailey keeps his Iraq medal, issued to members of the British armed forces who served as part of Operation Telic, safe in a drawer in his home. It features a clasp, given to personnel who were part of the very first wave of flights to leave British bases to invade Iraq in March 2003.So when the Labour MP for Leyton and Wanstead spoke at a meeting between Labour MPs and the prime minister on Monday evening, people listened. “I was exposed to and aware of all the things that were happening in the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq: the groupthink, the sense of unstoppable momentum,” he said on Tuesday. “If you look at what is happening right now, it’s materially different to 2003, but I think I can speak with adequate weight and credibility

‘It’s no news just when we wanted some’: bosses react to spring statement

Amid global volatility, Rachel Reeves tried to project calm with a low-key forecast. But business owners have their doubtsRachel Reeves gave a deliberately low-key spring forecast on Tuesday, in an attempt to project calm amid volatility abroad and after repeated tax rising budgets.But for some business owners struggling with rising costs, a lack of policy announcements this time around was a disappointment.Changes to the business rates system are set to go ahead on 1 April, while Reeves offered little relief for companies still reeling from increases to employment costs last year. Nor was there clarity on the long-delayed defence investment plan, a key part of promises to increase spending

Reeves’s spring statement? The economy is great, don’t worry about the Middle East

When your luck is out, your luck is out. Time to accept what the fates have to throw at you. It was always going to be a bit of a stretch for Rachel Reeves to maintain she had a brilliant plan and the economy had never been in better health when the figures show a fall in growth and a rise in unemployment. Unless you happen to think those things aren’t so bad after all.To do so three days after the beginning of Donald Trump’s Awfully Big Iranian Adventure when oil and gas prices are rising, the bond markets are in turmoil and stock markets around the world are falling, begins to look a bit previous

UK considering sending warship to Cyprus; government to charter flight from Oman ‘in the coming days’– as it happened

You can now read the full story on our earlier reports in the blog that the government is considering sending warship HMS Duncan to Cyprus, here:John Healey, the defence secretary, is considering sending a Royal Navy destroyer to Cyprus to help defend British bases there after several apparently hostile drones targeted RAF Akrotiri on the island.Defence sources said a deployment of HMS Duncan, currently in Portsmouth, was under discussion as a way to better protect the base in Cyprus – though another said it was possible one of two other destroyers might be sent as an alternative.HMS Duncan is specialised in counter-drone operations and last month was engaged on a test exercise off the coast of Wales facing swarms of drones, before hosting a family day on Friday. It is not clear how ready it is to set sail.John Healey, the defence secretary, is considering sending a Royal Navy destroyer to Cyprus to help defend British bases there after several apparently hostile drones targeted RAF Akrotiri on the island

Starmer vows to avoid ‘mistakes of Iraq’ that have haunted Labour for decades

Tony Blair’s support for the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 has long loomed like a spectre over the Labour party.It was present in 2013 when Ed Miliband as opposition leader voted to block UK military action against the Syrian regime.And it was there again on Monday when Keir Starmer assured MPs that the government remembered the “mistakes of Iraq” and would always operate on a “lawful basis” and with a “viable thought-through plan”to the crisis erupting in the Middle East.The implication from the prime minister was clear: he does not think the initial US and Israeli strikes against Iran were either legal or considered. “This government does not believe in regime change from the skies,” he told the Commons

After failing to win the peace prize, Trump turns his focus to Nobel prize for war | John Crace

Maybe we should have just had done with it back in December. Instead of offering a polite reservation, every western country should have sent a full, state delegation to Norway. Begging, imploring the Nobel Committee to award Donald Trump the peace prize. We could all have chipped in a couple of billion just to make it even more worth winning.And if that wasn’t enough, we could have twisted the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, to upgrade his “Peaceiest Ever President” award to the “Makes Jesus Look Second Rate” prize