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Chilcot report live: Blair expresses 'sorrow and apology' but mounts lengthy defence of Iraq war strategy Chilcot report live: Blair expresses 'sorrow and apology' but mounts lengthy defence of Iraq war strategy
(35 minutes later)
4.15pm BST
16:15
Reg Keys says Blair's statement was 'ramblings of a madman'
Reg Keys, whose son Tom died in Iraq and who stood against Tony Blair in the 2005 election, is responding to Tony Blair now on BBC News.
He says Blair was “rambling”. Blair feels he has been exonerated by Chilcot, Keys says. But he says that is not what the report says.
He says Blair misled parliament.
And he accuses Blair of refusing to meeting relatives of those killed in Iraq.
Keys says his view is that his son and other soldiers did die in vain.
He says Blair is a “consummate actor”.
He says Blair’s comments were just “the ramblings of a madman”.
He says Blair has been found guilty by Sir John Chilcot.
Relatives of servicemen killed are handing the findings to lawyers. They will take whatever action is appropriate.
He says Chilcot has done a “damn good job”. It is a very thorough report, he says.
4.06pm BST
16:06
Q: Do you accept that the lack of trust created by Iraq led to people voting to leave the EU, because they don’t trust politicians.
Blair says he thinks that argument is “a bit of a stretch”.
People are entitled to expect politicians to act in good faith. But they also need them to take decisions.
He says there are many aspects to the question of why there is a disconnect between the public and politicians. But that is a topic for another day.
However, this report does show that he acted in good faith.
It is best to have politicians who take decisions, not duck them, he says.
And that’s it. His marathon press conference is over.
4.03pm BST
16:03
Q: Did you over-estimate your own ability to influence the Americans?
No, says Blair. He says he had a good assessment of his influence.
He says he is not clear whether Chilcot is saying the UK should not have invaded with America, or whether he is just saying the UK should not have invaded in March 2003.
4.00pm BST
16:00
Blair says his worry after 9/11 was that America would go after al-Qaida on its own.
He says he wanted the Americans to know Britain would support them because he wanted them to build a coalition. And that worked well in Afghanistan, he says.
3.58pm BST
15:58
Q: Do you think the Iraqis are better off since the invasion?
Blair says it would depend who you ask. Some would say yes. The Kurds are better off, he says. And he says an aide to the Iraqi president made a statement today saying Iraq was better off.
3.55pm BST
15:55
Q: If America had not been committed to invasion, would you have tried to persuade them to invade Iraq?
Blair says that is a very good question.
He would definitely have been in favour of taking action to stop WMDs falling into terrorist hands.
He says his first intervention in Iraq was with President Clinton. After that America adopted regime change in Iraq as official policy.
He does not know how it would have turned out if there had been a different US president. But he had to deal with the situation as it was.
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at 4.02pm BST
3.52pm BST3.52pm BST
15:5215:52
Q: You said history would be the judge of your decision on Iraq. And this is the first judgment of history. Why are you rejecting it?Q: You said history would be the judge of your decision on Iraq. And this is the first judgment of history. Why are you rejecting it?
Blair says he thinks Iraq will stabilise and the Middle East will stabilise.Blair says he thinks Iraq will stabilise and the Middle East will stabilise.
There is a drive to get rid of sectarian politics, and replace it with rule-based politics.There is a drive to get rid of sectarian politics, and replace it with rule-based politics.
Iraq under Hussein had no chance. Now it does have a chance, he says. Iraq under Saddam had no chance. Now it does have a chance, he says.
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at 4.18pm BST
3.50pm BST3.50pm BST
15:5015:50
Q: You say your comments will not affect how you are seen. So is there any point giving this explanation?Q: You say your comments will not affect how you are seen. So is there any point giving this explanation?
Blair says he thinks there is more understanding in the country than people think.Blair says he thinks there is more understanding in the country than people think.
And the report does not say he acted in bad faith.And the report does not say he acted in bad faith.
He says people should trust a politician most when they are taking a difficult decision.He says people should trust a politician most when they are taking a difficult decision.
He thinks about this every day, he says. And he keeps coming back to the point that he was right to remove Hussein. He thinks about this every day, he says. And he keeps coming back to the point that he was right to remove Saddam.
Updated
at 4.16pm BST
3.48pm BST3.48pm BST
15:4815:48
Q: Jonathan Powell and David Manning urged you to remove the phrase ‘I will be with you, whatever’ from your note to President Bush. So isn’t it disingenuous to claim it was not a blank cheque?Q: Jonathan Powell and David Manning urged you to remove the phrase ‘I will be with you, whatever’ from your note to President Bush. So isn’t it disingenuous to claim it was not a blank cheque?
Blair says it was not a blank cheque. He says other words were removed from the draft. But he needed to be at the heart of US decision making. He needed to ensure they went down the UN route; and they did.Blair says it was not a blank cheque. He says other words were removed from the draft. But he needed to be at the heart of US decision making. He needed to ensure they went down the UN route; and they did.
3.46pm BST3.46pm BST
15:4615:46
Q: Lots of people in the UK looked at George Bush and didn’t trust him. They thought he was gung-ho. What do feel about that, and are you still in touch with him?Q: Lots of people in the UK looked at George Bush and didn’t trust him. They thought he was gung-ho. What do feel about that, and are you still in touch with him?
Bush says he is in touch with many people.Bush says he is in touch with many people.
He says his prompting encouraged Bush to commit to a Palestinian state. He says Bush committed to going down the UN route, even though others in the administration were opposed.He says his prompting encouraged Bush to commit to a Palestinian state. He says Bush committed to going down the UN route, even though others in the administration were opposed.
He says he “completely disagrees” with a line in the Chilcot report saying France and Germany have a strong relationship with the US, even though they opposed the invasion. He says France and Germany had to work hard to repair the damage done by their stance on Iraq.He says he “completely disagrees” with a line in the Chilcot report saying France and Germany have a strong relationship with the US, even though they opposed the invasion. He says France and Germany had to work hard to repair the damage done by their stance on Iraq.
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at 3.47pm BSTat 3.47pm BST
3.40pm BST3.40pm BST
15:4015:40
Q: You have expressed sorrow, but you say you do not regret what you did. Can you see why people look at this and conclude they do not trust you?Q: You have expressed sorrow, but you say you do not regret what you did. Can you see why people look at this and conclude they do not trust you?
Blair says there is no inconsistency between the two things.Blair says there is no inconsistency between the two things.
He says he spends so much of his time considering this. He could not say he regrets something when he does not.He says he spends so much of his time considering this. He could not say he regrets something when he does not.
Q: You say the calculus of risk changed after 9/11. There were no links between al-Qaida and Iraq. But there are links between al-Qaida and Arab countries where you have built a business career.Q: You say the calculus of risk changed after 9/11. There were no links between al-Qaida and Iraq. But there are links between al-Qaida and Arab countries where you have built a business career.
He says he never claimed there was a link between Iraq and al-Qaida, although some in America did.He says he never claimed there was a link between Iraq and al-Qaida, although some in America did.
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at 3.50pm BSTat 3.50pm BST
3.36pm BST
15:36
Q: Jeremy Corbyn said today you made the case for the war in a way that was not justified. And a Labour frontbencher [Paul Flynn - see 1.44pm] has suggested you should be prosecuted?
Blair says parliament was not misled.
He would challenge his critics to read the reports he read, and not conclude that Saddam was developing WMDs.
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3.34pm BST
15:34
Q: What mistakes do you apologise for?
Blair says if he was planning a campaign like this now, he would look much more carefully at the risk of external elements linking up with insurgent elements in the country.
He says the report does not address this point.
3.31pm BST
15:31
Q: Do you accept military resources were too stretched by trying to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan?
Blair says he does not accept that. He remembers the cabinet meeting where this was discussed, and he insisted the Afghanistan operation should only go ahead if the military had the resources. He implies that the military told him they could cope with both campaigns.
Updated
at 3.33pm BST
3.29pm BST
15:29
Q: You were warned that an invasion might increase the terrorist threat to the UK, and increase the threat of WMDs getting into the hands of terrorists.
Blair says the risk of WMDs getting into the wrong hands was not a reason for not trying to get rid of it.
And he says the terrorists attack countries in the west whatever. They attacked Belgium, which has not been involved in any wars.
Updated
at 3.29pm BST
3.26pm BST
15:26
If you’ve not yet seen it, here’s our useful guide to the key points from the Chilcot report.
Related: Chilcot report: key points from the Iraq inquiry
3.25pm BST
15:25
Q: Chilcot says British troops were humiliated in the south because they had to make a deal with insurgents.
Blair says he does not accept British troops were humiliated.
Q: What did you mean when you said you would be with President Bush “whatever”.
Blair says he meant whatever the political difficulties. But it had to be done in the right way, he says.
He says he persuaded Bush to go down the UN route.
Updated
at 3.27pm BST
3.22pm BST
15:22
Q: You have apologised to the families for the first time. Do you understand why families want to see you pay a price for what you did?
Blair says he has apologised before for the mistakes.
It is up to the families to call for what they want, he says.
He is trying to explain what he did.
Please don’t accuse me of lying, he says.
3.20pm BST
15:20
Blair says decision not to bomb Syria in 2013 was 'a fundamental mistake'
Q: You create the decision you are apologising. But you say you stand by your decision. So what are you apologising for?
For the mistakes.
Q: What mistakes?
For the mistakes with planning and process, Blair says.
But Blair says he does not regret the decision he took.
He says he is in the Middle East two or three times a month. He knows the roots of Islamist extremism go far deeper than Iraq.
He says the west will be less safe if it does not intervene.
He says the Chilcot report does not address the need for strategy.
Updated
at 3.25pm BST
3.15pm BST
15:15
Blair criticises Chilcot for not considering what might have happened if Saddam had remained in power
Q: Isn’t it disingenuous to say what is happening in Syria now has no links to Iraq? Some of the Islamic State figures are people held in American camps in Iraq.
Blair says he is not saying there is no link. But Isis only flourished when ungovernable space opened up in Syria.
He says nowhere in the report does Chilcot say what might have happened if Saddam had been left in power.
Updated
at 3.16pm BST
3.14pm BST
15:14
As Tony Blair continues to answer questions, here are the Guardian’s Luke Harding and Ewen MacAskill with their reaction to the Chilcot report.
Updated
at 3.18pm BST