Jeremy Corbyn preparing to call for Tony Blair to be investigated for war crimes

By Laura Hughes, political correspondent

Jeremy Corbyn is preparing to call for Tony Blair to be investigated for war crimes in the wake of a damning Chilcot report into Britain’s involvement in the Iraq War, the Telegraph understands.

The former Labour Prime Minister’s reputation is expected to be seriously “damaged” by the upcoming Inquiry, according to a senior source who has discussed the report with its authors.

It is understood that Mr Corbyn will not row back from calls he made last year for Mr Blair to stand trial for war crimes if he is found to have broken the law over the 2003 conflict.

At the time the Labour leader said Mr Blair will have to “explain” his involvement in the Iraq war once the Inquiry is published on 6 July, less than a fortnight after the EU referendum.

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Sir John Chilcot CREDIT: DAVID CHESKIN/PA

A Labour spokesperson said yesterday: “We look forward to the release of the Chilcot report into the Iraq War and reading the evidence he has uncovered .”

They confirmed Mr Corbyn stands by his previous remarks.

The report will deliver an “absolutely brutal” verdict on the former Labour prime minister, ex-foreign secretary Jack Straw and the former MI6 boss Sir Richard Dearlove, according to a former government minister quoted in the Sunday Times.

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