Brown: Iraq war decision 'made for right reasons'

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said today that Britain made the “right decision for the right reasons” to go to war in Iraq.

Opening his evidence to the Chilcot Inquiry, the Prime Minister expressed his sadness for the loss of life in the conflict.

But he insisted that it had been necessary for the international community to confront Saddam Hussein.

“I think this is the gravest decision to go to war,” he said. “It was the right decision and it was for the right reasons.”

Mr Brown paid tribute to the "sacrifice'' of the British troops who had lost their lives in the conflict while acknowledging the scale of the civilian losses.

“Any loss of life is something that makes us very sad indeed,” he said.

Unlike Tony Blair when he appeared in January, Mr Brown entered the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, where the inquiry is being held, by the front entrance.

Only a small knot of protesters had gathered to mark his arrival.

Mr Brown said there were three areas he particularly wanted to raise with the inquiry panel.

He said it was vital to have “proper structures of decision-making” in Government for fighting wars, to manage conflicts better and to improve how states work together in conflicts.

Mr Brown said: “There will be interventions in the future, and international co-operation has got to be far greater than it was.

“Global problems require global solutions, and I would particularly draw attention to the importance in all this of the strongest possible relationship between Europe and America, something that I am determined to build up and continue to make stronger in the future.”