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

Keir Starmer assured MPs lessons had been learned from the Iraq invasion and the UK would operate with a ‘viable thought-through plan’. Photograph: House of Commons/PA

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.