LONDON: Christopher Meyer, Britain’s former ambassador to the US and a staunch critic of the Iraq war, has died at 78 following a stroke in the French Alps while holidaying with his wife.
Meyer served in Washington during the 9/11 attacks and the resulting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Having played a central role in dealing with the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Meyer later became deeply critical of Prime Minister Tony Blair’s relationship with George W. Bush, telling the Chilcott inquiry that he believed this gave the US president carte blanche to push ahead with invading Iraq.
Pointing to a speech Blair gave in 2002 in the US, Meyer said there were already clues as to his thinking on regime change in Iraq.
But it was Blair’s failure to use the UK’s leverage in Washington to delay the war that proved decisive in Meyer’s disdain for its handling, writing in his 2005 memoir “DC Confidential” that extra time was needed to allow for better planning of the post-Saddam Hussein era.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: “Saddened to hear of the death of Sir Christopher Meyer, he was a dedicated public servant throughout his career and devoted his life to international diplomacy. My thoughts are with his wife Catherine and his loved ones.”
After joining the Foreign Office in 1966, Meyer had postings in Moscow, Madrid and Brussels, before being appointed press secretary to Prime Minister John Major in 1993.
Thereafter he returned to foreign postings, with a brief period serving as ambassador to Germany before his six-year stint in Washington.
