Nick Clegg enrages Tories by declaring the Iraq war 'illegal'
Bungling David Cameron and Nick Clegg were making blunders on both sides of the Atlantic yesterday.
Deputy PM Clegg was slapped down by Number 10 after declaring the war in Iraq as "illegal".
And both men was accused of sending out mixed messages over the withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan.
Cameron also slipped up by describing Britain as the "junior partner" of the US in the fight against the Nazis in 1940.
Clegg, standing in for Cameron at PM's Questions, accused Jack Straw of being involved in "the illegal invasion of Iraq."
The remark was embarrassing for the coalition as Cameron backed the war. And if this government had declared it illegal the 300 troops still in Iraq would be open to a legal challenge.
Officials issued a swift put-down, saying Clegg did not speak for the government.
A Number 10 spokesman said: "The coalition government has not expressed a view on the illegality of the conflict in Iraq."
Clegg and Cameron also gave different accounts of Britain's exit strategy from Afghanistan.
The deputy PM declared that British troops would end their war with the Taliban by 2015.
Cameron said the date was a target depending on Afghan forces' ability to deal with the rebels.
Shadow Foreign Secretary David Miliband accused them of sending out "mixed messages."
Tory backbencher Andrew Tyrie agreed. He added: "Do we have a fixed timetable or do we have a policy based on conditionality? "I am also left a little unclear about what exactly we're leaving behind after 2015."
Gen Sir Mike Jackson, who led the army for three years, said he was "wary" of setting dates.
He added: "The important thing for me is that a plan does not equal reality - we need to keep an open mind.
"There could be an element of hostage to fortune in being too pedantic about dates."
Clegg's disastrous outing as Mr Cameron's stand-in got worse when he mistakenly announced the closure of Yarl's Wood detention centre in Bedfordshire. The Home Office had to point out that only the family unit at Yarl's Wood would shut.
Meanwhile, Cameron got his history wrong as he tried to explain his view of Britain's relationship with America.
Speaking in the US, he said: "The fact is that we are a very effective partner of the US but we are the junior partner. We were the junior partner in 1940 when we were fighting the Nazis."
The US remained neutral until Germany and Japan declared war on it in December 1941.
Downing Street said the PM's comments were not meant to belittle British troops.
"The last thing that the Prime Minister would have wanted to do is create that impression," said a spokeswoman.
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