The current situation in Iraq is "dire", according to former British foreign secretary Jack Straw.
Speaking on BBC1's Question Time, Mr Straw, now leader of the Commons, said: "I think many mistakes were made after the military action - there is no question about it - by the United States administration.
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"Why? Because they failed to follow the lead of Secretary [of State, Colin] Powell," Mr Straw said.
"The State Department had put in a huge amount of effort to ensure there was a proper civilian administration."
Although ministers and officials, both in London and Washington, have accepted that mistakes were made, Mr Straw's acknowledgment of the current difficulties was unusually frank.
His comments carry particular significance as he was the member of the government, after Tony Blair, most closely associated with the decision to go to war