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| No deal in blood on Iraq - Powell | No deal in blood on Iraq - Powell |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Tony Blair's ex-chief of staff has told the Iraq inquiry there was no deal "signed in blood" in March 2002 to support the US in war with Iraq. | |
| Jonathan Powell dismissed ex-diplomat Sir Christopher Meyer's claim that Mr Blair's stance had hardened after a private meeting at George Bush's ranch. | |
| "There was no undertaking in blood to go to war in Iraq," Mr Powell said. | "There was no undertaking in blood to go to war in Iraq," Mr Powell said. |
| He also said notes from Mr Blair, who faces the inquiry next week, to Mr Bush in 2002 did not commit Britain to war. | |
| I was at Crawford, David Manning as at Crawford. Christopher Meyer was not at Crawford. He was at Waco 30 miles away Jonathan PowellTony Blair's ex-chief of staff | |
| Mr Powell said the notes in which Mr Blair had said "Britain will be there" - if Saddam Hussein could not be disarmed using diplomacy - were part of a process in which Mr Blair had tried to influence the Americans. | |
| Mr Blair was trying to make clear what would be a sensible basis to "go ahead". | |
| "What he was talking about was the danger of unintended consequences. Suppose it became militarily tricky, Iraq suffered unexpected civilian casualties, the Iraqis feeling ambivalent about being invaded," he said. | |
| He said that far from supporting regime change in a speech after the Crawford ranch meeting, Mr Blair's team had been worried about not drawing attention to the gap between the UK and US positions at the press conference. | |
| "I was at Crawford, David Manning as at Crawford. Christopher Meyer was not at Crawford. He was at Waco 30 miles away," Mr Powell said. | |
| "There was not an undertaking in blood to go to war with Iraq. There was no firm decision to go to war." | |
| Legal basis | |
| But he said most people accepted that continuing a containment policy against Saddam Hussein was no longer viable in 2001 - and they were concerned that the effectiveness of sanctions would decline and not be replaced by anything. | |
| He was also asked about the claim Mr Blair made, in the foreword to the September 2002 dossier, that intelligence had established "beyond doubt" that Saddam Hussein had continued to produce chemical and biological weapons. | |
| Mr Powell told the inquiry they were "attaching too much importance" to a phrase which "at the time had very little impact". | |
| He said it had turned out to be a "damp squib" and his much-reported question to former communications chief Alastair Campbell in which he asked what the Evening Standard headline would be was an old joke referring to a previous story about Ken Livingstone when Labour was in opposition. | |
| Meanwhile the ballot for tickets for members of the public to watch Tony Blair's appearance before the inquiry also took place on Monday, with letters set to go towards the successful applicants. | |
| It was announced on Monday Mr Blair would face the inquiry on Friday next week, the day after ex-attorney general Lord Goldsmith - the man at the centre of controversy over whether the war was lawful. | |
| Other witnesses next week include legal advisers from the Foreign Office, while ex-defence secretary Geoff Hoon and ex-foreign secretary Jack Straw are giving evidence later this week. |