Labour anger over Iraqi PM speech

Labour anti-war activists are voicing anger over reports that Tony Blair wants to invite Iraq's prime minister to the party's annual conference.

It has been reported that Iyad Allawi could be a special guest speaker at next month's conference in Brighton.

Some anti-war MPs warn such a move would increase Labour divisions when unity is needed ahead of the election.

A Labour Party spokeswoman told BBC News Online speakers at the conference had yet to be confirmed.

Irritation

Reports of the planned invitation to Mr Allawi come as an Iraqi national conference in Baghdad is meeting to choose an assembly ahead of elections next year.

Mr Allawi has faced some criticism for asking for help from US-led forces to help attack supporters of radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr in the holy city of Najaf.

Mr Blair says it is time to move on and perhaps he should move on from slavish support for US policy on Iraq Jeremy Corbyn Labour MP

Last year's international guest speaker at the Labour conference was Afghan leader Hamid Karzai in a show of support for his interim administration.

The previous year it was ex-US president Bill Clinton.

Mr Blair has repeatedly said people with different views about the war can unite about the need to back efforts to build a stable and democratic Iraq.

Labour anti-war MP Jeremy Corbyn told BBC News Online: "It is wholly inappropriate to invite this man who has reintroduced the death penalty and banned a television station in Iraq, not to mention who was appointed by the American administration.

"It will be extremely irritating to the party grass roots and test their patience once again.

Mr Cook said defeat for President Bush could be good for Mr Blair

"Tony Blair needs to learn the lesson that Parliament voted to go to war without popular support or approval and without support within the Labour Party.

"We have paid an electoral price for this in council and by-elections ever since.

"He says it is time to move on and perhaps he should move on from slavish support for US policy on Iraq."

Healing chance?

Gaye Johnston, the secretary of the Save the Labour Party campaign group, told the Independent newspaper an invitation to Mr Allawi would be "yet another indicator that he holds the conference in contempt".

Former foreign secretary, Robin Cook, on Sunday said the prime minister could use the Labour conference to "build bridges" with opponents of the war by accepting some of the lessons of the Iraq war and showing it would not happen again.

Mr Cook told the BBC's Breakfast with Frost programme: "[Mr Blair]has to understand that he cannot take Britain to war again in such very divided circumstances.

"One good thing he could do at this party conference would be to rule out the doctrine of pre-emptive strike which George Bush invented to justify the attack on Iraq."

Butler intervention?

Lord Butler could renew debate about his findings on pre-war intelligence during a House of Lords debate on Iraq on 7 September.

The former cabinet secretary is considering speaking in the debate but says he has yet to make a firm decision.

Lord Butler has not spoken publicly about his findings since he unveiled his report saying pre-war intelligence on Iraqi weapons was flawed.