Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats in the UK and currently the man number 2 in Britain, described the invasion of Iraq in 2003 as illegal. In his first appearance at prime minister's questions, Clegg was challenged by Jack Straw, a Labourist, about the accountability of the current government actions. He told the former foreign secretary that he was happy to "account for everything we are doing in this coalition government". He then added:
"Maybe one day - perhaps we will have to wait for his [Straw's] memoirs - could account for his [Straw's] role in the most disastrous decision of all, which is the illegal invasion of Iraq." As the Head of Ministry of Exterior in the run-up to the war, Mr Straw was a crucial figure in backing the conflict and he told the Iraq war inquiry earlier this year that the UK could not have committed troops without his support. The Lib Dems, led at the time by Charles Kennedy, opposed the war and have consistently questioned its legality.