Former London mayor says on Question Time ignoring warnings about Iraq invasion was reason for bombings in London

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Ken Livingstone has directly blamed Tony Blair for the 52 deaths in the 7/7 bombings in London in 2005 – accusing the former prime minister of ignoring warnings that the invasion of Iraq would provoke terrorists.

The former London mayor said that ignoring the warnings from the security services about the impact on terrorism had “killed 52 Londoners”.

Livingstone, who was London mayor at the time of the bombings, condemned Blair during a discussion on BBC1’s Question Time about the possible bombing of Islamic State targets in Syria.

He said: “If I was there [in the shadow cabinet], I’d say bombing on its own isn’t enough. We shouldn’t get caught up again. I remember when Tony Blair was told by the security services: ‘If you go into Iraq, we will be a target for terrorism.’ And he ignored that advice and it killed 52 Londoners.”

The intervention by Livingstone was immediately condemned by the comedian and former Labour adviser Matt Forde. He told Livingstone: “This idea that you can absolve the people that killed those innocent Londoners by blaming it on Tony Blair is shameful.”

The two men were then involved in a heated exchange.

Livingstone: “Well, you can because ... ”

Forde: “Blame it on the people who carried out the atrocity.”

Livingstone: “Yes, and go and look what they put on their website. They did those killings because of our invasion of Iraq.”

Forde: “Well then, just accept the propaganda of the terrorists then, Ken.”

Livingstone: “No, no. They gave their lives. They said what they believed. They took Londoners’ lives in protest against our invasion of Iraq ... We were lied to by Tony Blair about Iraq. There were no weapons of mass destruction.”

Livingstone’s decision to blame Blair for the deaths on 7/7 contrasted with a speech he gave in the immediate aftermath of the bombings from Singapore, where he had been celebrating London’s success in securing the 2012 Olympic Games. In his speech, which was widely praised, Livingstone said the terrorists had no ideology and had decided to embark on indiscriminate mass murder.

The former London mayor said in Singapore: “That isn’t an ideology, it isn’t even a perverted faith – it is just an indiscriminate attempt at mass murder and we know what the objective is. They seek to divide Londoners. They seek to turn Londoners against each other.”