Tory U turn on Iraq – opportunism or genuine conversion?

Four years ago the Tory benches were baying at Tony Blair to stop pussyfooting about and to get behind George Bush’s Iraq invasion plans. A higher percentage of Tory MPs than Labour ones voted for our troops to join the war.

How times change. According to the Telegraph “Liam Fox, the shadow defence spokesman, applauded Sir Richard's intervention and said troops "could not remain for an infinite amount of time"”. Err Liam, has anyone ever suggested that they would or should?

I’ve only met the famously rightwing Dr Fox once. I was nursing a friend at the bottom of the stairs in Westminster Hall down which she had just fallen. As it’s the main exit from Parliament, a lot of people went by including a number of MPs with groups of visiting constituents. Most saw we were in control of the situation and went on their way but one came bouncing up to see if he could help.

I found his intervention rather unhelpful and a tad intrusive. Only after he’d gone did the policeman who was assisting us tell me it was the good Dr Fox MP. Now if he’d told me he was a doctor I’d’ve been less hostile. I suppose he assumes that everyone recognises him even when they’re kneeling at his and some stairs' feet propping up an injured friend in semi-darkness. Twit...