Colin Powell, former US secretary of state, dies at 84 of Covid complications

• Powell helped to build case for 2003 invasion of Iraq
• Joe Biden hails a patriot of unmatched honor and dignity'

Colin Powell, the former US secretary of state who played a pivotal role in attempting to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq, has died from complications from Covid-19 aged 84, it was announced on Monday.

Powell, a retired four-star general who served as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff in the early 1990s, had been treated for Covid at Walter Reed national medical center in Bethesda, Maryland, where he died. He was fully vaccinated against coronavirus but had a compromised immune system having been treated for blood cancer.