Meanwhile, sources close to Foreign Secretary Mr Hague have confirmed that he has written to cabinet ministers reminding them of government policy not to comment on the justification or otherwise for the Iraq war until after the Chilcot Inquiry reports.

BBC: John Prescott: Iraq invasion 'cannot be justified'

They certainly can argue, with some justification, that it was the war, and not the New Deal, that finally got us out of the Great Depression.

FORBES: New Geographer