'The Iraq invasion was a cock-up. And it is a cock up we will be living with for the next 50 years', says British Major General Julian Thompson

Major General says he blames UK politicians for the 'complete mess' in Iraq

Believes the 2003 invasion of the country was a 'political cock-up'



Says the people of Iraq are not better off since the war in the country



Warns against UK forces going back into the country again



Major General led Royal Marines during the 1982 Falklands War



A senior British military figure has branded the UK's 2003 invasion of Iraq 'a cock-up we will be living with for the next 50 years'.



Major General Julian Thompson, who commanded Plymouth-based 3 Commando Brigade during the 1982 Falklands War, spoke out as Isis militants seized three cities in Iraq and seem to be heading towards the capital Baghdad.



And Major General Thompson says he blames UK politicians for the 'complete mess' in Iraq and now fears for the future.



Major General Julian Thompson, pictured, says he blames UK politicians for the 'complete mess' in Iraq and now fears for the future

Major General Julian Thompson led 3 Commando Royal Marines during the 1982 Falklands War. He is pictured with his family at Buckingham Palace

The 79-year-old said: 'Iraq was a strategic error of gargantuan proportions. I was against us going in from the very beginning in 2003.

'I didn't say so at the time with the boys going in but it was wrong.



'The effects of what we did will be felt for a very long time.

'It was not the right thing to do. This was not a military cock up, it was a political cock up. And it is a cock up we will be living with for the next 50 years.



The Major General says Tony Blair, pictured with former U.S. president George W. Bush, is guilty of getting us into a position we shouldn't have got into

'Saddam Hussein was not a nice guy but he kept the lid on extremism.

‘He held the balance of power between the Iranians and the Arab World.’



‘People are far worse off now than they were when he was there. I don't care what Tony Blair says, these people are not better off. Blair is guilty of getting us into a position we shouldn't have got into.’



The deepening crisis in Iraq has prompted U.S President Barack Obama to say last night that he wouldn't 'rule out anything' as he searches for ways to help the ailing Iraqi army push back the terrorist horde.



Major General Thompson says former Prime Minister Tony Blair, pictured with troops in Basra, Iraq in 2006, is wrong when he says people in Iraq are better off

But Major General Thompson believes it wouldn’t be wise to intervene in the country again.



He added: ‘We will not go back in - at least I certainly hope not. We couldn't sort it out the first time, we'd just make it worse if we went back.

‘Rather like a disease we need to rope it off do it doesn't affect us. We have to be cold blooded. Our security must come first.