Angry protestors outside Iraq War Inquiry

Blair: 'A Liar And A Murderer'

Posted by Jon King on Jan 30, 2010

Tagged with: 911, al qaeda, chilcot inquiry, iraq war inquiry, new world politics, regime change, saddam hussein, september dossier, sir john chilcot, tony blair, war on terror, weapons of mass destruction, WMD

You’re a liar and murderer they screamed at him: Fury in public gallery as Blair says ‘I have not a regret’

Blair: ‘A Liar And A Murderer’

By James Chapman

An unrepentant Tony Blair was heckled and jeered by families of Britain’s war dead last night as he declared he had ‘not a regret’ about invading Iraq and toppling Saddam Hussein.

At the end of what had been billed as his ‘Judgment Day’, the former Prime Minister made it clear he would do the same again – and warned world leaders they may soon have to take similar decisions over Iran.

Despite the deaths of up to 700,000 Iraqis and 179 British troops, Mr Blair said he felt ‘responsibility but not a regret’ as he concluded his six hours of evidence to the Chilcot inquiry.

There was uproar and shouts of ‘liar’ and ’ murderer’ as bereaved relatives in the public gallery of the QEII conference centre in Westminster realised they were not going to receive the apology for which they had waited all day.

There was no hint of remorse.

Indeed, Mr Blair even suggested the world should be grateful to him.

Saddam had been a ‘monster’ and it had been right to remove him even to prevent the ‘possibility’ that he could acquire weapons of mass destruction.

He warned that Iran’s nuclear weapons programme now poses an even greater threat.

And, in an apparent rebuke to Gordon Brown and Barack Obama, suggested that if he was still in power he would be championing military action.

On a dramatic day of evidence, Mr Blair:

• Revealed he decided soon after 9/11 to back the U.S. in whatever action it took;

• Said a second UN resolution was politically desirable but not legally necessary;

• Defended his claim that evidence for Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction was ‘beyond doubt’ and insisted he had believed it;

• Admitted the infamous claim that Saddam’s WMD could be deployed within 45 minutes should have been corrected;

• Revealed he rejected a last-minute offer of a ‘way out’ from the U.S., which said the UK did not need to send ground troops.

• Mr Blair, in what is likely to be his last major appearance on the international stage, arrived by the back entrance to the centre, apparently to avoid a crowd of protesters outside.

As he began his evidence, he looked uncharacteristically nervous, with his hands shaking.

Read Full Article HERE…

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