London - Former British prime minister Tony Blair will appear before an inquiry into the Iraq War for a second public grilling on Friday to clarify his earlier evidence detailing his reasons for joining the invasion.
Blair, who sent 45 000 British troops as part of the US-led invasion in 2003, told the London inquiry in his first appearance that Saddam Hussein had been a threat to the world who had to be removed or disarmed.
He also said he had no regrets about the military action, a comment that angered some of the relatives of the 179 British soldiers killed in Iraq.
Alistair Campbell, Blair's former communications chief and one of his closest advisers until he resigned in late 2003, said people still felt raw about the war.
“Some people who actually really liked Tony Blair when he became prime minister ... they will never forgive him for Iraq,” he told Sky News.
The decision to go to war was one of the most controversial episodes of Blair's 10-year premiership which ended in 2007, leading to massive protests and accusations he had deliberately misled the public over the reasons for the invasion.
Blair denied such claims and rejected suggestions he had promised US president George Bush he would support military action in 2002, months before attempts to secure explicit UN backing had foundered.
He also said the war was legal based on advice he had been given from the government's then top lawyer. - Reuters