The £6.5 billion cost of Iraq War

1.01.22pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 11th Apr 2008

Lib Dem MPs and MEPs campaign against the Iraq War at Parliament.

Local people have reacted angrily to recent estimates that set the British cost of the Iraq War at more than £6.5 BILLION.

This has all been paid by the UK taxpayer.

Many people are asking how the Labour Government can find the money to pay for an illegal war in Iraq but can't find more money to invest in local NHS services or more police to cut crime.

Plans to withdraw troops ended

This is on top of news that the Labour Government has ended plans to withdraw British troops from Iraq.UK troop numbers in Iraq have fallen slightly in recent months. However, Gordon Brown has now ended plans to reduce numbers further following an increase in violence in Iraq.

The Liberal Democrats have consistently opposed the War in Iraq, the only main party to do so, and have demanded that troops are withdrawn.

The party once more called for an official Inquiry into the war on the fifth anniversary of the invasion in March this year.

Huge loss of life

Hundreds of UK service personnel and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians have died in the conflict.