LONDON, Sept 22: Prime Minister Tony Blair should quit over the Iraq war which is a bigger disaster than Suez for Britain or Vietnam for the United States, a candidate to lead the Conservative opposition party said on Wednesday.

“It’s the worst foreign policy blunder for over 50 years,” said Malcolm Rifkind, who served as foreign minister under prime minister John Major.

“In the case of Suez it was all over in a few days, not many people were killed,” Rifkind said on the Sky News channel.

However, Iraq was a war of choice, he said. “This is a war that was started without provocation. Hundreds of thousands have been killed or maimed,” he said.

“It’s a disgrace. The prime minister should not be sustained in office,” he said. Rifkind is among several candidates to lead Britain’s Conservative opposition party, which has lost the last three elections to Blair’s Labour Party.—AFP