This is probably not how Blair wanted to leave office though this is his legacy. The debate now is about the timing, with some wanting to review later when emotions are less involved while others have seen enough and want to move now. At the earliest it sounds like the investigations will not start until after Blair is gone in the summer which his successor Gordon Brown dislikes because it will divert attention from his own agenda. With Blair boldly denying any responsibility for the catastrophe in Iraq, it might be difficult to avoid bringing him back to reality as he departs.
The Government is under mounting pressure to hold an early inquiry into the mistakes made in Iraq as Tony Blair refused to apologise for the chaos engulfing the country.
Heavyweight demands for a wide-ranging investigation came in a five-hour debate in the House of Lords led by the former foreign secretary Lord Hurd of Westwell, who won the backing of several other former cabinet ministers.
