THE widow of a Poole commando killed in Iraq has described as "devastating" the confirmation that Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction at the time of the US-led invasion.

Lianne Seymour's 28-year-old husband Ian was one of eight British servicemen who lost their lives when their helicopter crashed in the desert soon after the second Gulf War began.

Thursday's report by the Iraq Survey Group stated Iraq had no stockpiles of chemical, nuclear or biological weapons immediately before the war.

Mrs Seymour said: "It's been highly doubted all along. Now to have it confirmed is just devastating, to know that so many people have been misled. Our servicemen and women go out there believing they're doing the right thing, but ultimately, some of them don't come back."

Former chief United Nations weapons inspector Hans Blix hopes Tony Blair and George Bush will now admit the Iraq invasion was a mistake.

Mrs Seymour, who has previously called for Mr Blair to resign, said: "He shouldn't have been so gung-ho.

"To gamble with so many lives without being sure ... it's so upsetting to know that he could do this."

Mrs Seymour, whose young son Beck recently started school, added: "It's hard when you lose your husband in any circumstances, especially when you have children, but Iraq is constantly in the news more than 18 months after.

"There's no line drawn under this. Things are in such turmoil in the country even now.

"Saddam is in jail, but there are many cruel dictatorships out there. We're not going to overthrow all of them."

The Iraq Survey Group was set up in 2003 with headquarters in Washington and has 1,200 experts from the US, Britain and Australia. Its first leader, David Kay, quit this year, stating weapons of mass destruction would not be found. Current head Charles Duelfer was appointed by the CIA.

First published: Oct 8