David Maddox: Frosty reception but few regrets from the man who's legacy will be judged in history

Published on Friday 21 January 2011 17:24

THE slight shake of the hands as he fumbled through documents on the table before him underlined the pressure that Tony Blair is under.

While the acting ability which once charmed millions of voters is undimmed and the earnest expression still believable, Mr Blair cannot hide the strains the Iraq legacy has left on him and his reputation.

The other telling moment was the way he rigidly refused to turn and kept his head down as relatives of those who lost their lives heckled him from behind after he expressed his regrets for the many deaths.

"Too late," shouted Rose Gentle, the mother of Gordon Gentle, a Scottish soldier who lost his life during the conflict.

"Liar," others shouted.

They had made their feelings known right from the start by turning their backs on the former Prime minister as he entered the inquiry room to give his evidence.

It is this lasting anger undiminished eight years after the war and the fact that the controversy of Iraq dominates his much cherished legacy which seems to frustrate and an unnerve the man who dominated British and world politics for so long.

The same cannot be said for the tenure of the questioning he faced, apart from the tricky, hand-shaking moment when he was pressed into revealing he had not passed on documents with alternatives to war to members of the Cabinet.

Sir John Chilcot and his fellow inquiry panellists time and again refused to go in for the kill and for a man who was used to the rigours of Prime Minister's Questions they barely posed a challenge to Mr Blair.

Those in the room and many more watching on the time-delayed television broadcasts just got a glimpse of the frustrations felt by Sir John and others that crucial documents, letters between Mr Blair and former President George Bush, will not be made public.

It is true to say that the questioning on this second attempt was more forensic and the very fact that they had hauled the former prime minister back was in itself an effort to show the this inquiry is not made up of pushovers.

But while Mr Blair appeared to be resigned to the fact that he will be criticised by the inquiry admitting that he should have done more or acted differently, it is hard to escape the feeling that his main concern is that of how he will be judged in history. The one thing that tied his two evidence sessions was a message to the world from Blair that another military intervention in the region may be required - next time in Iran.