Blair is 'sorry' for lives cut short in Iraq war

Mr Blair says he has often reflected on whether he was wrong to take

the country to war and has shed tears over the loss of life, but insists Iraq is a better place without Saddam Hussein.

He says: "On the basis of what we do know now, I still believe that leaving Saddam in power was a bigger risk to our security than removing him, and that terrible though the aftermath was, the reality of Saddam and his sons in charge of Iraq would at least arguably be much worse."

He also reveals the torment when he was asked by Sir John Chilcot, leading the Iraq Inquiry, whether he regretted the decision – knowing that he would provoke anger whether he answered yes or no.

The former Prime Minister bemoans how the inquiry, designed to learn lessons, had instead "inevitably turned into a trial of judgement, and even good faith" and seeks to defend his declaration in front of families of the dead – when he gave evidence earlier this year – that he did not regret the decision but took responsibility for it.

"The anguish remains," he says. "The principal part of that is not selfish. Some of it is, to be sure.

"Do they really suppose I don't care, don't feel, don't regret with every fibre of my being the loss of those who died?"

He goes on to say it would be "inhuman, emotionally warped" to be indifferent to the deaths not just of servicemen but of Iraqis, diplomats and hostages like Ken Bigley.

He adds: "The sense of anguish arises from a sense of sadness that goes beyond conventional description or the stab of compassion you feel on hearing tragic news.

"Tears, though there have been many, do not encompass it.

"I feel desperately sorry for them, sorry for the lives cut short,

sorry for the families whose bereavement is made worse by the controversy over why their loved ones died, sorry for the utterly unfair selection that the loss should be theirs."

He goes on: "I am now beyond the mere expression of compassion. I feel words of condolence and sympathy to be entirely inadequate. They have died and I, the decision-maker in the circumstances that led to their deaths, still live.

"I used the word 'responsibility', incomplete though it is, with deliberation."

Mr Blair's comments will do little to win over his critics, but he uses the book – A Journey – to offer a detailed justification for his decisions, admitting that when debating the issue "by and large, people have stopped listening to each other".

He admits he has often reflected on whether he was wrong – but appeals to readers to "reflect as to whether I was right".

As the United States declares its combat mission in Iraq over, the decision to go to war still casts a shadow over Mr Blair's decade in Downing Street.

The decision has been criticised by Yorkshire's two Labour leadership contenders Ed Miliband and Ed Balls, as well as left-wing challenger Diane Abbott who voted against the war in the House of Commons, rebelling against Mr Blair.