Blair faces embarrassing questions at Iraq inquiry

London: Tony Blair is to be hauled before the Iraq War inquiry in the run-up to next year's General Election.

The former prime minister will be among a series of senior Labour figures to be publicly grilled early next year in what could be a PR disaster for the party which has tried to draw a line under the war.

It is also a further blow to Blair's hopes of securing the job of EU president. Several countries are already nervous about backing him.

It was expected that Blair would give evidence to the inquiry, but it was not clear when. Sir John Chilcot, who is chairing the inquiry, has indicated that Blair and other ministers would be asked to appear before his committee in early 2010.

The inquiry, which will cover the entire eight-year period from the build-up to the war to the withdrawal of British troops, was announced by Gordon Brown in June.

Accusations

The report will not be published until the end of next year or even 2011 — leading to accusations that the prime minister was trying to kick it into the long grass. But the timing of Blair's appearance means Iraq is now set to be revived as a major issue in the period leading up to the election.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that a senior Foreign Office official has accused judges of damaging national security by ordering the release of evidence of British involvement in torture.

Last month the High Court ordered the release of CIA evidence about the detention of Binyam Mohammad, a British resident detained in Guantanamo Bay.