Tony Blair Iraq trial blocked by judges

A former Iraqi army chief of staff has failed in his bid to prosecute Tony Blair for his role in the Iraq war.

General Abdul Wahed Shannan al-Rabbat accused the former prime minister and two of his ministers, Jack Straw and Lord Goldsmith, of criminal "aggression " during the 2003 Iraq invasion to overthrow Saddam Hussein.

Lawyers were seeking permission from the High Court to seek a judicial review in an attempt to overturn a 2006 House of Lords ruling decreeing there is no such thing as "crime of aggression" under English and Welsh law.

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However, judges this morning dismissed the application, saying there was no prospect of success.

Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd and Mr Justice Ouseley "recognised that a crime of aggression had recently been incorporated into international law, but said it did not apply retroactively", The Guardian reports.

Blair's decision to back the war "tarnished" his reputation, says Sky News, with claims that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction later proved untrue.

Last summer, the Chilcot inquiry concluded Saddam Hussein had not been an imminent threat and that military action was not the "last resort". While it did not accuse Blair of lying, the report's author, Sir John Chilcot, said this month the former prime minister had not been "not straight with the nation".