Blair: I can look public in eye and say I did not mislead them

Tony Blair has said he can look the public and families of the soldiers who died in Iraq in the eye and say: "I did not mislead this country".

The former prime minister said: "I made the decision in good faith on the information I had at the time. And I believe that it is better that we took that decision.

"I acknowledge all the problems that came with that decision. I acknowledge the mistakes and accept responsibility for them.

"But what I cannot do, and will not do, is say I believe we took the wrong decision.

"I believe I made the right decision, and that the world is better and safer as a result of it.

"Sometimes when people talk about me in this regard, almost as if I don't care about the loss of life and the grief and suffering of the families.

"But I had to decide, are more people going to suffer? Are more people going to die if we leave this brutal dictator in place who had already killed so many people? So, that's the decision, I'm afraid."