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Ex-ministers before Iraq inquiry Iraq deaths 'difficult' - Browne
(about 1 hour later)
Two former defence secretaries are appearing before the Iraq inquiry, as it focuses on British operations between 2006 and 2009. Former defence secretary Des Browne has spoken of the personal strain he felt when members of the British armed forces were killed in Iraq.
Des Browne and John Hutton, who have both since left the cabinet, are likely to be asked about British operations and security challenges at the time. Mr Browne told the Iraq inquiry he found it "difficult to come to terms" with the deaths of personnel during his time in office between 2006 and 2008.
The inquiry has already heard from Geoff Hoon, defence secretary at the time of the March 2003 invasion. At that time, the UK had 7,000 troops in Iraq and sustained mounting casualties as violence increased.
Former prime minister Tony Blair is to give evidence on Friday. But Mr Browne said the upsurge in attacks did not alter UK strategy.
Mr Browne is the second former defence secretary to give evidence to the Chilcot inquiry, which is looking into the background to the 2003 invasion and its aftermath.
Geoff Hoon, defence secretary in the run-up to and during the war, has already given evidence while Mr Browne's successor, John Hutton, will face questions later on Monday.
Mr Browne described his responsibility for British troops in Iraq as "awesome" and said concern about troops' welfare meant he choose to devote a lot of his time to helping the families of personnel.
He described how within 24 hours of taking the job in 2006 five British soldiers were killed when their Lynx helicopter was shot down.
I found it difficult to personally deal with the losses of our people Des Browne
He told the inquiry that his lack of military background meant he struggled to deal with the impact of casualties.
"I found it very difficult to come to terms with the deaths of our people in an operational environment," he said. "I found it difficult to personally deal with the losses of our people."
During his evidence on Thursday, former foreign secretary Jack Straw spoke of his "deep regret" for the "grave loss of life" in Iraq during the UK's six-year presence there.
Mr Browne said Iraq policy was "fixed" by the time he took on the job and there were no "great discussions" at that stage about the controversial 2003 invasion and its legality.
Resources
"We had the responsibility and we had to deliver on it," he said of British operations in and around Basra in the south of the country.
Mr Browne said the decision to deploy thousands of British troops to southern Afghanistan in 2006 did have an "impact" on the operation in Iraq, as it "increased pressure on a finite level of resources".
But he said he had never come under any pressure from the military or No 10 to divert troops or equipment from Iraq to Afghanistan.
Mr Hoon told the inquiry last week he opposed the decision to commit UK troops to the Nato mission in Helmand province, saying he felt it was not sustainable to mount two major operations at the same time.
Ex-prime minister Tony Blair is to give evidence to the inquiry on Friday while ex-attorney general Lord Goldsmith will also appear this week.