Drawing his media appearance to a close after more than an hour of questions, he said that on the basis of the information he had at the time, he would take the same decision again.
Advertisement
Mr Blair was warned the war would increase Al Qaeda activity.
Today, the former prime minister faces mounting calls to be taken to court for the “terrible” decision of committing British troops to the US-led invasion in 2003.
Blair faced hostile questioning from national and worldwide media, who said his assurances to former US President George Bush had amounted to a “blank cheque for war” and that he had abandoned diplomatic channels too easily.
“We are not interested in re-litigating the decisions that lead to the Iraq war in 2003… we are not going to go through it [the report], we are not going to examine it, we are not going to try to make an analysis of it or make judgment of the findings one way or another”.
It also found that warnings about the increased risk of terrorist activity and regional instability had not been shared with the public and MPs.
Chilcot said: “We have concluded that the United Kingdom chose to join the invasion of Iraq before the peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted”.
Mr Blair said he had relied on these reports, but acknowledged: “It would have been far better to have challenged them more clearly”. But he says he still believes it was the right decision and the world is a safer place with Saddam Hussein gone.
The report is named after the inquiry’s chairperson and former civil servant Sir John Chilcot. “I really don’t”, he said. “I may be completely wrong about that”.
Launched with the stated goal of wiping out Saddam Hussein’s stores of weapons of mass destruction, the war aimed to enshrine a liberal democracy in the Middle East but instead unleashed sectarian violence and endless political disputes.
Following the publication of the report, Mr Blair said he took responsibility for “mistakes in planning and process” identified by the inquiry.
Humphrys suggested some people thought Mr Blair was deluded.
He said Australia needed its own inquiry into its involvement in the war, and he would raise the matter with the next prime minister.
Those who opposed joining the 2003 war in Iraq are now crying victory, after the release of the Chilcot report.
“I express more sorrow, regret and apology than you can ever know or believe”, he said, before seemingly backtracking.
Scottish former FM says he was also “very disappointed” with the reaction and positioning of the most labor-leaning members of parliament.
Shortly afterwards current Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn – a top figure in the anti-war campaign – directly contradicted his predecessor Blair.
Advertisement
The Times quotes Sir John Chilcot’s report, which said that Britain fought an “unnecessary, disastrous and potentially illegal war” in Iraq because of Tony Blair’s “misguided and personal commitment to George W Bush”.
