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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Blair Iraq inquiry date announced | Blair Iraq inquiry date announced |
| (8 minutes later) | |
| Former Prime Minister Tony Blair will give evidence to the Iraq inquiry on 29 January, it has been announced. | Former Prime Minister Tony Blair will give evidence to the Iraq inquiry on 29 January, it has been announced. |
| Mr Blair, the highest profile figure to appear before the panel, will face six hours of questioning. | Mr Blair, the highest profile figure to appear before the panel, will face six hours of questioning. |
| A public ballot will be held later on Monday for people wanting seats to watch his evidence session. | A public ballot will be held later on Monday for people wanting seats to watch his evidence session. |
| Mr Blair, prime minister during the Iraq war in 2003, is expected to answer questions about the build-up to war and planning for its aftermath. | Mr Blair, prime minister during the Iraq war in 2003, is expected to answer questions about the build-up to war and planning for its aftermath. |
| His former Downing Street chief-of-staff Jonathan Powell will face the committee, chaired by Sir John Chilcot, later on Monday. | |
| He will be followed this week by the former defence secretary Geoff Hoon and Justice Secretary Jack Straw, who was serving as foreign secretary in 2003. | |
| The ballot for the appearance by Mr Blair is for 60 seats, with a third of the places being set aside for bereaved families of service personnel or other Britons killed in Iraq. | |
| Last week Mr Blair's former director of communications Alastair Campbell appeared before the panel. | |
| He said he defended "every single word" of the 2002 dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. | |
| The inquiry is looking at UK policy before and after the 2003 war. |