Hawks who've had second thoughts...

Boris Johnson, 'Spectator' editor and Tory MP

WHAT HE SAID THEN: "It [the war in Iraq] will mean the enforcement of the will of the UN, it will make the world a better place for the removal of Saddam Hussein and, above all, it will make the world better for the Iraqis he oppresses." (March 2003)

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WHAT HE SAYS NOW: "Whatever we achieve in Iraq we will not have made our own world safer, or made the risk of terrorism less likely: quite the reverse."

Max Hastings, Historian

WHAT HE SAID THEN: "Tony Blair has taken a brave decision, that the only hope of influencing American behaviour is to share in American actions." (March 2003)

WHAT HE SAYS NOW: "I have changed my own mind about Iraq. Today it seems almost impossible to believe that our open-ended presence is achieving anything... Whatever the Americans decide to do in Iraq, the British should start planning their withdrawal."

Geraldine Smith, Labour MP

WHAT SHE SAID THEN: Voted with the Government in authorising the war in 2003. But changed position with the publication of the Butler Inquiry in July 2004.

WHAT SHE SAYS NOW: "The situation appears to be deteriorating by the day. The Government has to think seriously about how long we are in Iraq. A firm date ... would help concentrate people's minds in Iraq. I'm not sure the British presence is helping the situation."

Col Tim Collins, Former battle group commander

WHAT HE SAID THEN: (In a speech to troops the night before the attack) "We are entering Iraq to free a people and the only flag that will be flown in that ancient land is their own." He said Saddam's men would be "destroyed for what they have done".

WHAT HE SAYS NOW: "We need to get out of Iraq, the entire Western force. But if we leave too quickly it would stay with us for generations."

Frederick Forsyth, Author

WHAT HE SAID THEN: "If you said George Bush has decided to invade a country miles from his home which doesn't threaten him, then you have to be insane. I think Saddam has lied and I think they know he has lied." (January 2003)

WHAT HE SAYS NOW: "I have changed my mind because Tony Blair lied to Parliament and has continued to lie to the country."

Johann Hari, 'Independent' columnist

WHAT HE SAID THEN: "The only moral factor in this war should be the Iraqi people, and their needs - and the Iraqi people's greatest need is for our help to get rid of one of the worst dictators on earth." (February 2003)

WHAT HE SAYS NOW: "It [is] becoming impossible to defend the invasion... Is there still a justification for 100,000 deaths and $200bn of spending, or am I clutching at bloody straws?"

...and the ones who still back the war

Charles Moore, Former 'Telegraph' editor

WHAT HE SAID THEN: "If the conflict is between extremists who hate the West and the political and cultural values that all European nations claim to share, why is it so wrong?" (January 2003)

WHAT HE SAYS NOW: "In one sense nothing has changed and so we have to make it work because the Iraqi people want us to stay. If [we] leave now then there would be a real danger of a civil war."

Nicholas Boles, Think-tank chief

WHAT HE SAID THEN: "There are several... important reasons [to] go to war: upholding the authority of the UN; the duty to protect Iraq's neighbour; and liberating the Iraqi people from tyranny." (February 2003)

WHAT HE SAYS NOW:

"Of course I am as nervous as everyone else. But I believe we must not weaken our resolve. [We are] in it for five or 10 years."

William Shawcross, Author

WHAT HE SAID THEN: "There are times when the use of force is essential in the pursuit of peace." (February 2003)

WHAT HE SAYS NOW: "I still think we are in Iraq for the right reasons. The recent events in Basra do not justify pulling out the British troops. The Iraqi people still want us there."