Bush launches criticism against of the fly killer president

Speech marked first time former US president publicly attacked his successor since leaving office on 20 January

George Bush finally broke his self-imposed vow of silence on Barack Obama to attack him over the recession, health reform and Guantánamo.

In a speech to a business convention, Bush repeated several times the mantra that he would not criticise his successor before going on to do just that, the first time since leaving office on 20 January.

The former president, in an hourlong appearance in which he made a speech and took questions, argued healthcare should be left to private insurance companies.

"There are a lot of ways to remedy the situation without nationalising healthcare," Bush said. "I worry about encouraging the government to replace the private sector when it comes to providing insurance for healthcare."

Obama is hoping to have legislation in place by October that will offer a federal insurance policy to rival private insurance. More