Legal action war in Iraq
“beyond doubt” prior to his publication in September 2002 of a dossier setting out the supposed threat from Saddam, the Chilcot Report found.
In a lengthy press conference in London, Mr Blair said he would never agree those who died and were injured in Iraq “made their sacrifice in vain”.
“They fought in the defining global security struggle of the 21st century against the terrorism and violence which the world over destroys lives, divides communities,” he said. “Their sacrifice should always be remembered with thanksgiving and with honour when that struggle is eventually won, as it will be.”
Tearful families responded with fury to the details of shortcomings in planning and preparation uncovered by the sevenyear inquiry.
Military policeman’s father Reg Keys said it was clear the prime minister “deliberately misled” the country and his son Tom “died in vain”, while Roger Bacon, whose son Matthew was killed by a roadside bomb, said the families reserved the right “to call specific parties to answer for their actions in the courts”.
Sarah O’Connor, whose brother Bob died when a military plane was shot down near Baghdad in 2005, branded Mr Blair “the world’s worst terrorist”.
The families could not be “proud” of the way the government treated their loved ones, said Mr Bacon, adding: “Never again must so many mistakes be allowed to sacrifice British lives and lead to the destruction of a country for no positive end.”
While the Chilcot Report contained “serious criticisms”, it showed “there were no lies, Parliament and the Cabinet were not misled, there was no secret commitment to war, intelligence was not falsified and the decision was made in good faith”, he said.
Announcing a two-day parliamentary debate next week, Prime Minister David Cameron, who backed war in 2003, told MPs: “The decision to go to war came to decision in this House. Members on all sides who voted for military action will have to take our fair share of the responsibility. We cannot turn the clock back but we can ensure that lessons are learned and acted on.”
In a scathing assessment of Mr Blair’s actions, Mr Corbyn, who opposed war from the start, said the report made clear that Parliament had been misled and the invasion was “an act of military aggression based on a false pretext”.
But while shadow cabinet minister Paul Flynn said prosecution of Mr Blair should be “seriously considered”, Labour leader Mr Corbyn stopped short of calling for his predecessor to be tried for war crimes, as some had expected.