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Jeremy Corbyn has said people whose decisions were criticised in the Iraq war inquiry "must face up to the consequences of their actions", although he stopped short of naming any individual.
The Labour leader has called in the past for his predecessor Tony Blair to face trial for war crimes, but today's long-awaited report did not officially express a view on whether the conflict was illegal.
Corbyn, who voted against the war in 2003, did not name Blair or anyone else in his criticism relating to Sir John Chilcot's report. Addressing MPs, he said: "There are no more important decisions a member of parliament ever gets asked to make than those relating to peace and war.
"The very least that members of parliament in the country should be able to expect is rigorous and objective evidence on which to base their crucial decisions.
"We now know that the house was misled in the run-up to the war, and the house must now decide how it should deal with it 13 years later – just as those who took the decisions laid bare in the Chilcot report must face up to the consequences of their actions, whatever they may be."
Corbyn had said the immense length of the report, which he was only able to begin reading in full this morning, meant his response today was "provisional". He is due to give another speech today at 5pm, in which he could, as previously promised, apologise for the war on behalf of the Labour party.
Glyn Kirk / AFP / Getty Images
But in his initial response in the Commons, Corbyn said that the war was "by any measure, a catastrophe":
The decision to invade and occupy Iraq in March 2003 was the most significant foreign policy decision taken by a British government in modern times. It divided this house and set the government of the day against a majority of the British people, as well as against the weight of global opinion.
The war was not in any way, as Sir John Chilcot says, a "last resort".
Frankly, it was an act of military aggression launched on a false pretext, as the inquiry accepts, and has long been regarded as illegal by the overwhelming weight of international legal opinion.
It led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and the displacement of millions of refugees. It devastated Iraq's infrastructure and society.
The occupation fostered a lethal sectarianism that turned into a civil war war. Instead of protecting security at home or abroad the war fuelled and spread terrorism across the region.
While Corbyn spoke, he was heckled by one of his own MPs, Ian Austin.
Austin, who voted in favour of the war 13 years ago, was heard to say: "Sit down and shut up. You're a disgrace."
LINK: Tony Blair Branded "Terrorist" By Sister Of British Soldier Killed In Iraq
LINK: Blair To Bush: "We Are Better To Act Now Than Let The Day Be Put Off"
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