“Opinion here has been deeply shocked by Iraq’s behaviour,” Hurd conceded in reply, before making clear he shared Lamont’s concerns. “We have a considerable commercial presence to protect in Iraq,” he wrote.Lamont, now Lord Lamont of Lerwick, told the Observer that he had little memory of events from 27 years ago and thought it unlikely he would have had much input into any action taken by Britain against Saddam’s government.