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Nick Clegg opposes fresh UK military action in Iraq UK rules out taking military action in Iraq
(about 3 hours later)
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has said he does not believe Western forces should go back into Iraq. The UK will not be getting militarily involved in Iraq, despite Islamist militants gaining control of more of the country, William Hague has said.
The Foreign Secretary said the UK was considering sending humanitarian aid from "our very large" budget.
But militarily "it is for the Iraqi leadership primarily to respond".
Deputy PM Nick Clegg also opposes action, referring to the 2003 war: "I don't think having made one mistake you repeat it by making a second one."
Mr Hague told the BBC: "We're very concerned about the hundreds of thousands of people who have been displaced, and with our very large humanitarian budget we may be in a position to assist with that, and we're looking at that now.
"But we will not be getting involved militarily. We will support the United States in anything that they decide to do, we're in consultation with them. But I stress again it is for the Iraqi leadership primarily to respond to this."
Earlier Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he did not believe Western forces should go back into Iraq.
Mr Clegg said the violence in Iraq was a "very, very dangerous situation" and showed how destructive the knock-on effects of the civil war in Syria were.Mr Clegg said the violence in Iraq was a "very, very dangerous situation" and showed how destructive the knock-on effects of the civil war in Syria were.
He said the UK provided training and equipment to Iraq but rejected the idea of any new military intervention.
"I don't think having made one mistake you repeat it by making a second one," he said, referring to the 2003 war.
Mr Clegg told his LBC phone-in that his personal view was that the legal basis for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was "very shaky".Mr Clegg told his LBC phone-in that his personal view was that the legal basis for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was "very shaky".
Militant enclaveMilitant enclave
The leader of the Lib Dems, the junior party in the UK's coalition government and a party which opposed the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, said "I personally do not think legality was ever proved."The leader of the Lib Dems, the junior party in the UK's coalition government and a party which opposed the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, said "I personally do not think legality was ever proved."
He said this was not the government's view, but his personal view and said his party, which was led by Charles Kennedy at the time, had stood alone in saying we should not have invaded in the first place. He said this was not the government's view, but his personal view and said his party, which was led by Charles Kennedy at the time, had stood alone in saying the UK should not have invaded in the first place.
The US says it is considering giving further assistance to Iraq in fighting Islamist militants who have taken control of a large swathe of territory in eastern Syria and western and central Iraq.The US says it is considering giving further assistance to Iraq in fighting Islamist militants who have taken control of a large swathe of territory in eastern Syria and western and central Iraq.
The Sunni Muslim insurgents, led by an al-Qaeda offshoot called the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), have been consolidating positions in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown, which they took on Wednesday, after capturing Mosul, Iraq's second city.The Sunni Muslim insurgents, led by an al-Qaeda offshoot called the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), have been consolidating positions in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown, which they took on Wednesday, after capturing Mosul, Iraq's second city.
They want to set up a Sunni militant enclave straddling the border.They want to set up a Sunni militant enclave straddling the border.
An ISIS spokesman has called on fighters to march on Baghdad and southern cities where the country's majority Shia Muslim community, which the group regards as "infidels", are concentrated.An ISIS spokesman has called on fighters to march on Baghdad and southern cities where the country's majority Shia Muslim community, which the group regards as "infidels", are concentrated.
The UN Security Council has condemned the attacks in Mosul and Tikrit - saying that the humanitarian situation around Mosul, where up to 500,000 have fled, is "dire and worsening by the moment". The UN Security Council has condemned the attacks in Mosul and Tikrit - saying that the humanitarian situation around Mosul, where up to 500,000 people have fled, is "dire and worsening by the moment".
ISIS in IraqISIS in Iraq
Critical test ahead for IraqCritical test ahead for Iraq
Six things that went wrong for IraqSix things that went wrong for Iraq
How did Iraqi militants take over Mosul?How did Iraqi militants take over Mosul?
In pictures: Iraq cities attackedIn pictures: Iraq cities attacked