Meanwhile papers which supported Blair's decision to commit British troops to the campaign to remove Saddam Hussein were -- much like the British prime minister himself in the run-up to the anniversary -- notably quieter.

Most trenchant was the Independent, which used its entire front page to run a hard-hitting editorial piece condemning the enterprise, titled: "A year of war that made the world a more dangerous place."

The conflict "should never have happened", it argued.

"Even at our most pessimistic, however, we underestimated the flimsiness of the pretext and the gravity of the consequences," the paper said, calling the situation in Iraq "terrorism's best recruiting agent".

The tabloid Daily Mirror -- generally a supporter of Blair's government -- condemned the aftermath of the conflict.

"On this first anniversary we could have expected there to be dates for elections in Iraq and the withdrawal of British troops," it said in an editorial.