Tony Blair told George Bush "I will be with you whatever” in run up to invasion of Iraq, finds Chilcot

Sir John Chilcot - credit: PA

Tony Blair told George Bush “I will be with you whatever” in the build-up to the invasion of Iraq, according to Sir John Chilcot’s inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the war.

In a damning report on the run up to the UK’s 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Chilcot inquiry found action was taken before peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted, and that military action was not the “last resort”.

Although the inquiry did not make a decision on the legality of the invasion, Chilcot warned that in "the circumstances in which it was concluded there was a legal basis for action were far from satisfactory."

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Chilcot said claims over the threat posed by Iraq “were presented with a certainty that was not justified” and that plans for what would happen to Iraq after regime change were found to be “wholly inadequate”.

The report found decisions were based on “flawed intelligence and assessments. They were not challenged, and they should have been.”

It raises questions over Blair’s conduct in the build-up to invasion, finding he “overestimated” his ability to influence US decision making.

It found that, in pressing for a second UN resolution, the UK was “undermining the Security Council's authority”.

Around 180,000 civilians were killed in the conflict, with another million people displaced.

Releasing the report, Chilcot said: “Military action in Iraq might have been necessary at some point. But in March 2003 there was no imminent threat from Saddam Hussein, the strategy of containment could have been adapted and continued for some time, the majority of the Security Council supported continuing UN inspections and monitoring.”