Blair ready to be grilled in secret Iraq probe

October 1st, 2009 LONDON - Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is set to become the first President of the 27-member European Union. According to The Sun, Blair will be nominated by EU leaders in Brussels if, as expected, Ireland backs the hated Lisbon Treaty in tomorrow's referendum.

September 21st, 2009 LONDON - Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair thinks his successor Gordon Brown is a political "quitter" who could stand down before the next election. According to a new book, Blair has told his inner circle that Brown does not have enough political courage.

September 6th, 2009 LONDON - British and Scottish Members of Parliament are keen to know whether former Prime Minister Tony Blair played a role in a deal between Britain and Libya to secure the release of the Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi at a meeting in a London club in 2003, long before either the Scottish government or Gordon Brown was involved. According to The Independent, questions are being raised in Parliament over the meeting that Blair orchestrated that brought Libya in from the cold.

June 21st, 2009 LONDON - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown decided to hold the independent inquiry into the Iraq war behind the closed doors because he was urged by his predecessor Tony Blair to do so, The Observer has claimed. Blair was reportedly afraid of a "show trial" that he dreaded the prospect of giving evidence in public and under oath about the use of intelligence and about his numerous private discussions with US President George Bush over plans for war.

June 18th, 2009 LONDON - Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was aware of the existence of a secret interrogation policy which effectively led to British citizens, and others, being tortured during counter-terrorism investigations, the Guardian reveals. The policy, devised in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, offered ­guidance to MI5 and MI6 officers ­questioning detainees in Afghanistan whom they knew were being mistreated by the US military.

June 8th, 2009 LONDON - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will announce an official inquiry report into the Iraq war "within days". Brown's decision comes in the wake of the recent departure of the last British troops from Iraq.

May 24th, 2009 LONDON - One of former British Prime MinisterTony Blair's closest political mentors, has said that his decision to go to war in Iraq and Kosovo was part of a "Christian battle". John Burton, Blair's political agent in his Sedgefield constituency for 24 years, says that Labour's most successful ever leader - in terms of elections won - was driven by the belief that "good should triumph over evil".

May 22nd, 2009 LONDON - English barrister Cherie Blair has revealed that her husband, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, loses his temper with her if dinner is not on the table when he gets home. In an interview with Total Politics, she revealed him to be a "very traditional" man, reports the Telegraph.

May 4th, 2009 LONDON - Britain was "dragged into a war in Iraq which was always against our better judgment" a former deputy head of MI6 has claimed. Former MI6 deputy director Nigel Inkster's comments make clear there were reservations over the war at a very senior level within the Secret Intelligence Service.

April 24th, 2009 LONDON - Former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who does not regret leading Britain to Iraq war, has called on the world to take on and defeat Islamic extremists. He believes that, without intervention, the problem will continue to grow in countries such as Afghanistan, and called for a battle to be waged against militant Islam similar to that fought against revolutionary communism.

April 10th, 2009 LONDON - Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has launched a new organisation about religion and God named after him, admitting that he did not pass a "single day" without reflecting on the aftermath of the Iraq war. The Tony Blair Faith Foundation would promote understanding about the world's major religions.

April 5th, 2009 LONDON - Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has emerged as the front-runner to become the first permanent president of the European Union. Blair has stepped up his campaign for the job, which he wants to use to build a bridge between Europe and the new Barack Obama Administration, The Independent reported.

March 20th, 2009 LONDON - A 1972 painting of Cherie Blair in the nude is listed for sale at a Mayfair art gallery in London, with a price tag of 600,000 pounds. Cherie Blair was 22 and unmarried when she posed for the drawing.

March 13th, 2009 LONDON - Four secret Whitehall e-mails released yesterday suggest that a dossier for invading Iraq was "sexed up". According to The Independent, the e-mails disclose that the intelligence services were sceptical over the "iffy drafting" of government claims that Saddam Hussein could mount a missile strike on his neighbours within 45 minutes of ordering an attack.

January 5th, 2009 LONDON - Former British premier Tony Blair is to be presented with one of America's highest civilian honours but is yet to pick up a Congressional gold medal awarded to him in 2003. Blair will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom Jan 13 along with President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia, and former premier John Howard of Australia.