Iraq has 'damaged faith in politicians'

The failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq has damaged the public's trust in politicians, the Archbishop of Canterbury hinted yesterday.

Dr Rowan Williams suggested that the "political health" of the country had suffered in the aftermath of the war and that owning up to mistakes might restore trust.

The Archbishop's remarks were made in a commemoration sermon at St Benet's Church, Cambridge, on the theme of Christian obedience. He did not mention Iraq directly.

He said that part of the "continuing damage" to the political health in the UK was linked to a sense of the events of the past year "being driven by something other than attention".

"The evidence suggeststhat obedience to a complex truth suffered from a sense of urgency that made attention harder," Dr Williams said. He said restoring trust lay "above all" in "patient" accountability and the freedom to think again and admit error or miscalculation.