Blair: Crisis cannot be blamed on 2003 invasion

Tony Blair has been criticised after claiming the violent insurgency in Iraq is not the result of the 2003 invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.

In a renewed call for military action, the former British prime minister said the crisis unfolding in the country was instead the “predictable” result of the West’s failure to intervene in Syria.

But his comments have met with scathing criticism from figures across the political spectrum, including his former deputy prime minister John Prescott and ex-international development secretary Clare Short, who resigned from her post over Iraq.