UK combat operations end in Iraq

After six years of an illegal, immoral, and unnecessary war, UK combat operations in Iraq ended in Basra.

This is not the time and place to go further into the whys and wherefores. Our thoughts turn to the nearly 200 service personnel who lost their lives in Iraq and of course their friends and family.

I am sure that there is a sense of relief for many that their final tour of Iraq is ending, and I look forward to welcoming them home.

However, we should not forget the toll on Iraq itself, with at least 100,000, and up to 1 million violent deaths as a result of the conflict.

The country is in a much worse condition than six years ago, its population depleted and demoralised, its infrastructure devastated.