BIRMINGHAM, Britain, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Britain's Conservative Party on Wednesday called for a full privy council inquiry into the origins and conduct of the war in Iraq.

    William Hague, Shadow Foreign Secretary, made the remarks in his speech on the last day of the party's annual conference.

    "We supported the decision to remove Saddam Hussein, but we all know that an occupation of Iraq that was better conceived and implemented could have spared so many the agony and bloodshed of the last five years," he said, adding the country should learn from mistakes made in Iraq.

    Hague cited progress in Afghanistan and Pakistan, as the single most urgent focus in foreign affairs once the party goes into power.

    "Failure there would leave the world much more open to terrorist attack," he noted, urging the United States to intensify the efforts to turn tactical success into strategic victory, which includes a functioning, non-corrupt government in Kabul, a better coordination of international aid and a unified military command.

    To that end, Britain will cooperate with Pakistan at all levels to turn people away from terror, as well as conducting an unrelenting global pursuit of terrorist networks and their finances, and to be tougher at home in banning organizations which breed terrorism.

    On other international front, Hague said Britain will forge an "intensified special relationship with India," while sustaining its "constructive working relationships with China," particularly on issues such as climate change and nuclear proliferation.

    On top of all this, the Shadow Secretary pledged that the future Conservative government will refresh its ties with the United States, the most important alliance of all, to push forward the peace process in the Middle East.

    Regarding Iran, Hague said its defiance of the United Nations Security Council and evident intention to develop nuclear capability could ignite a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

    "Unless Iran responds positively in the coming weeks to the latest proposals, we call for EU nations to adopt progressively tough measures against Iran, including a denial of access to Europe's financial system and a ban on new investment in Iranian oil and gas fields," he warned.

    Britain would also advocate the reform of NATO (North-Atlantic Treaty Organization), the UN Security Council and press for the European Union to respond to global competition, global warming and global poverty, instead of building more centralized power in Brussels.

    With its special links to America, Europe and Commonwealth, he said, the Conservative government would strive to "put Britain at the forefront of world affairs."

    Some 15,000 people have gathered here in Britain's second largest city for the Conservatives' four-day annual party conference, which is widely deemed as a platform to mete out substantial policies to prepare them for winning the next general election.

    The Conservative Party has been garnering an average 40 plus percent of voters' support in the last few months, leading the ruling Labour by more than 10 percentage points.

    Nonetheless, having no experience in actually tackling the economy compared with Gordon Brown's 11-year-record as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Cameron is also expected to win people's trust by demonstrating his party's capability to deal with the country's economic problems at a time of grim economic downturn and financial crisis.