Vince Cable

Vincent Cable MP challenges Tony Blair in Parliament

Prime Minister Tony Blair was today challenged to come clean about the escalating cost of the war in Iraq and its aftermath by Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Dr Vince Cable. At Prime Minister's Questions today, Dr Cable said: "The latest estimate of the eventual cost to the UK tax payer of the war and occupation of Iraq is £6 to £7 billion."

"Now that more troops are being considered does he have any plans to plug the growing hole in the Chancellor's budget or will he risk, like Sir Anthony Eden after Suez, creating a financial crisis?"

The 1991 Gulf conflict cost £2.3 billion. Unlike the Gulf war, where 80% of the costs of the war were paid by friendly Arab countries, the cost of this conflict to Britain is being borne fully by British taxpayers.

Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon has confirmed that the cost of the war for the last financial year was over £850 million. A further £1.23 billion has already been spent this year. Of the £3 billion set aside from contingency funds, two thirds has already been spent, with no foreseeable end to the instability in Iraq. With Britain's continuing presence in Iraq costing around £200 million a month, the Government will have to set aside more money for continued troop deployments within the next few weeks.

Notes

Richard Cobbold of the Royal United Services Institute predicted almost a year ago that any future war in Iraq would cost more than double the £2.3 billion spent in the 1991 Gulf conflict a year on from the war.