Troops' lives 'wasted' in Iraq

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Sir Christopher Meyer said the campaign was now not worth the death of "another single further British or American serviceman".

"I personally believe that the presence of American and British forces is making things worse, not only in Iraq, but in the wider area around Iraq. The argument against staying for any greater length of time strengthens with every day that passes," he said.

The ex-diplomat - in Washington during the crucial run-up to the 2003 invasion - was giving evidence to the Iraq Commission, an independent cross-party group set up by think-tank the Foreign Policy Centre and Channel 4 to study the situation.

Sir Christopher said that although every decision in foreign affairs was "fraught with risk", he backed pulling out of Iraq quickly and trying to establish international conferences to stabilise the region.

"I don't think the situation in Iraq now is worth the life of another single further British or American serviceman," he said.

"I think the Iraqis are in fact sorting themselves out - often bloodily - independent of what we're doing."

Sir Christopher - now chairman of the Press Complaints Commission - insisted prime minister-in-waiting Gordon Brown was unlikely to announce a unilateral troop withdrawal that was not co-ordinated with the US.

He said the process of leaving Iraq was inevitably going to be "painful" for both countries, and would cause "strain" in their relations.