David Cameron was ­“ultimately responsible” for the failure of the 2011 bombing campaign in Libya, according to the foreign affairs committee Sang Tan/AP

An “opportunistic” David Cameron led a botched intervention in Libya that caused the rise of Islamic State in north Africa, a parliamentary inquiry has concluded.

The former prime minister was “ultimately responsible” for the failure of the 2011 bombing campaign, according to the foreign affairs committee.

He relied on poor intelligence as he allowed an operation designed to protect civilians to “drift” into a campaign to remove Colonel Gaddafi, the report said. Its publication comes two days after Mr Cameron surprised Westminster by standing down as an MP.

Britain and France led airstrikes on Libya after an uprising triggered by the Arab Spring. The threat of further violence by Gaddafi spurred western powers to take action but since then thousands of people have been killed…