Chilcot to Grill Blair - "Misled Inquiry" - On the 21st

Chilcot to grill Blair on how he 'misled' Iraq war inquiry

Panel recalls former PM to answer 'grave doubts' about the veracity of his original evidence

AFP/Getty Images: An Iraq inquiry source said of Blair: 'There is a feeling... he wilfully misrepresented the facts'

16 January 2011 - Tony Blair will face allegations that he has "misled" members of the Iraq inquiry when he returns to give evidence to the panel this week.

Members of the five-strong Chilcot inquiry have grave doubts over the truthfulness of statements the former prime minister made to them last January and in his memoirs, published last autumn. The Independent on Sunday understands that the inquiry is concerned over Mr Blair's evidence on the legal advice he received before agreeing to join the invasion, and the timing of the decision to go to war.

He also faces claims that he misrepresented the findings of a report from international inspectors sent into Iraq following the invasion to look for evidence that Saddam Hussein had been building an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The Iraq Survey Group (ISG), found no evidence of WMD, crucially undermining the case for war. {continued}