The publication of the Chilcot inquiry report on 6 July was belated but also timely. Many of the causes of the public’s vote to leave the European Union – the loathing of mainstream politicians, the distrust of the elite, the desire for the United Kingdom to disengage from the world – can be traced back to the decision to invade Iraq 13 years ago.
On 15 February 2003, one million protesters in Britain marched against the war. They were expressing not only their opposition to the impending conflict in Iraq, but their disbelief about the infamous, and now debunked, claim that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction that could be activated within 45 minutes. They were also voicing their scepticism about the ambitions of Tony Blair, who responded to the atrocities of 11 September 2001 by declaring, in a speech to the Labour party conference, “The kaleidoscope has been shaken, the pieces are in flux, soon they will settle again. Before they do, let us reorder this world around us.”
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