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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/jul/06/chilcot-report-live-inquiry-war-iraq
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| Version 16 | Version 17 |
|---|---|
| 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) | |
| 4.51pm BST | |
| 16:51 | |
| Jack Straw, who was foreign secretary at the time of the Iraq war, is being interview on Sky News. He says Tony Blair was “never gung-ho” about war. | |
| Asked about the phrase “I will be with you, whatever” that Tony Blair included in his July 2002 memo to Bush, Straw says he thought that was unwise because it would be misinterpreted. | |
| Updated | |
| at 4.59pm BST | |
| 4.40pm BST | |
| 16:40 | |
| Goldsmith says Chilcot backs his finding that war was legal | |
| Lord Goldsmith, attorney general at the time of the Iraq war, has put out a statement about the Chilcot report. | |
| He says he welcomes the fact that there is nothing in the report that challenges his conclusion that the war was legal, and nothing in the report which challenges the fact that this was his “honestly held view”. | |
| Lord Goldsmith, then attorney general, on #Chilcot pic.twitter.com/bHEchl16Cl | |
| 4.33pm BST | |
| 16:33 | |
| Here is the full text of Tony Blair’s opening statement. | |
| Updated | |
| at 4.33pm BST | |
| 4.15pm BST | 4.15pm BST |
| 16:15 | 16:15 |
| Reg Keys says Blair's statement was 'ramblings of a madman' | 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. | 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. | 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. | 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. | 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. | He says Chilcot has done a “damn good job”. It is a very thorough report, he says. |
| Updated | |
| at 4.34pm BST | |
| 4.06pm BST | 4.06pm BST |
| 16:06 | 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. | 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”. | 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. | 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. | 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. | 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. | It is best to have politicians who take decisions, not duck them, he says. |
| And that’s it. His marathon press conference is over. | And that’s it. His marathon press conference is over. |
| 4.03pm BST | 4.03pm BST |
| 16:03 | 16:03 |
| Q: Did you over-estimate your own ability to influence the Americans? | 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. | 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. | 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 | 4.00pm BST |
| 16:00 | 16:00 |
| Blair says his worry after 9/11 was that America would go after al-Qaida on its own. | 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. | 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 | 3.58pm BST |
| 15:58 | 15:58 |
| Q: Do you think the Iraqis are better off since the invasion? | 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. | 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 | 3.55pm BST |
| 15:55 | 15:55 |
| Q: If America had not been committed to invasion, would you have tried to persuade them to invade Iraq? | 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. | 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 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 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. | 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. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 4.02pm BST | at 4.02pm BST |
| 3.52pm BST | 3.52pm BST |
| 15:52 | 15:52 |
| 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 Saddam 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. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 4.18pm BST | at 4.18pm BST |
| 3.50pm BST | 3.50pm BST |
| 15:50 | 15:50 |
| 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 Saddam. | He thinks about this every day, he says. And he keeps coming back to the point that he was right to remove Saddam. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 4.16pm BST | at 4.16pm BST |
| 3.48pm BST | 3.48pm BST |
| 15:48 | 15:48 |
| 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 BST | 3.46pm BST |
| 15:46 | 15:46 |
| 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? |
| Blair 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. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 4.32pm BST | |
| 3.40pm BST | 3.40pm BST |
| 15:40 | 15:40 |
| 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. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 3.50pm BST | at 3.50pm BST |