Jeremy Corbyn could back motion to find Tony Blair in contempt of Parliament after accusations he deceived MPs in the run-up to the Iraq War
David Davis is making an attempt to hold the former PM to account in the wake of the damning Chilcot inquiry
JEREMY Corbyn said he would probably back a motion to find Tony Blair in contempt of Parliament after accusations he deceived MPs over the Iraq War.
The Labour leader indicated he would support David Davis’ attempt to try and hold the former Prime Minister to account over the conflict in the wake of the damning Chilcot inquiry.
Mr Corbyn said he "probably would" support the Tory MP’s motion, which is expected to be tabled in the Commons this week, with the former minister accusing Mr Blair of "deceit".
The veteran leftie told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show: "I urge colleagues to read the Butler report and read the Chilcot report about the way in which Parliament was denied the information it should have had, the way in which there was lack of preparations for the post-invasion situation in Iraq and the way there were assertions of weapons of mass destruction.
"Parliament must hold to account, including Tony Blair, those who took us into this particular war."
Asked if he would back the motion, he said: "I haven't seen it yet, but I think I probably would."
It comes after Lord Prescott, the deputy prime minister at the time of the 2003 invasion, claimed the Iraq War was illegal.
Mr Davis said if his motion is accepted by Speaker John Bercow, it could be debated before Parliament breaks up for the summer.
The senior Tory, who appeared on the Andrew Marr Show as well, said: "I'm going to put down a contempt motion, a motion which says that Tony Blair has held the House in contempt.
"It's a bit like contempt of court. Essentially by deceit."
Referring to the 2003 vote in invade Iraq, he added: "If you look just at the debate alone, on five different grounds the House was misled, three in terms of the weapons of mass destruction, one in terms of the UN votes were going, and one in terms of the threat, the risks.
"He might have done one of those accidentally, but five?"
He said if the House agreed Mr Blair had held the House in contempt, MPs would have to persuade the authorities "to take the next step".
The long-awaited Chilcot report strongly criticised the way former PM took the country to war in 2003 on the basis of "flawed" intelligence with inadequate preparation at a time when Saddam Hussein did not pose an "imminent threat".
Sir John Chilcot also said the way the decision about the legal basis for the war was reached was "far from satisfactory", but the report did not rule on the legality of the military action.