Blair under fire over WMD reports

US President George W. Bush, left, talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair during a working dinner at the G8 Summit in Evian on Saturday. Both leaders are coming under fire for allegedly exaggerating evidence related to Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. PHOTO: AFP

British decided on Tuesday to launch an inquiry into Prime Minister Tony Blair's motives for attacking Iraq as he faced accusations of misleading parliament and the public over former president Saddam Hussein's suspected banned weapons.

Parliament's Affairs Committee said late on Tuesday it would look into the decision to go to war, focusing particularly on the issue of weapons of mass destruction.

Earlier, Blair's office held talks with the parliamentary committee that scrutinizes the intelligence services about a possible inquiry into evidence of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction, his spokesman said.

Blair US President George W. Bush ousted the Iraqi leader on the grounds that his weapons posed a serious threat, but no chemical, biological or nuclear arms have been found, prompting claims they hyped up intelligence to justify the war.

Blair angrily denied the allegations and said no independent inquiry was necessary. But his spokesman said the Joint Intelligence and Security Committee, a parliamentary committee that reports directly to Blair, may probe the case.

In contrast to the Security Committee, an inquiry by the Foreign Affairs Committee is normally held in public.

The inquiries would follow a similar move in Washington where the Senate is planning hearings on the motives for war.

The Foreign Affairs Committee inquiry will focus "particularly on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction," Chairman Donald Anderson said.

The issue of Iraq's weapons has come back to haunt Blair, who risked his premiership by defying public opinion over the war but appeared to emerge unscathed after Saddam's swift fall.

"In trying to make the case for war, Tony Blair stretched his credibility to the limit and has potentially done serious harm to his own standing and public trust in government," said Charles Kennedy, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrats.

While could take some heat off Blair, the inquiry may not silence his harshest critics, many within his own Labour Party.

Many the committee's previous reports have been filled with blanks where material deemed sensitive has been edited out.

Talk the inquiry comes as parliament was to gear up for a mammoth day of talks on Iraq and its weapons yesterday.

After a week of globetrotting, Blair will have to field questions at his weekly prime minister's question time.

]Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has cut short a NATO meeting in Madrid to respond to an opposition debate on Iraq.

Two Blair's former ministers, both of whom resigned over Iraq, have accused him of duping the public and committing a "monumental blunder" by going to war.

Fifty of parliament from the Labour Party, which was deeply split over Iraq, have signed up to a motion calling on him to publish in full his evidence against Saddam.

One the potential scandal was "more serious than Watergate."

Also see story:
Committee checks Blair's Iraq intelligence