Blair to appear at Iraq inquiry on Jan 29th
Ballot held for Blair Iraq inquiry appearance
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By Tom Powell. |  |
Monday, 18, Jan 2010 05:25
By Richard James.
Tony Blair will appear before the inquiry into the Iraq war on January 29th, it has been confirmed.
The former prime minister will give evidence to the inquiry headed by Sir John Chilcot from 10:00 GMT next Friday for two-and-a-half hours in the morning and then another three hours in the afternoon.
A ballot will be held later today for members of the public wishing to see Mr Blair deliver his evidence.
Sir John Chilcot's inquiry invited people to apply for tickets two weeks ago due to the huge demand for a place at the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre when the former prime minister appears.
Two separate ballots will be held later, one for the morning session and one for the afternoon session, with a total of 120 tickets available to the public.
A third of the tickets are set to be allocated to relatives of British personnel killed in Iraq.
Sir John said previously the decision to hold the ballot was based on the "considerable interest" in the former PM's evidence session.
This afternoon, Mr Blair's former Downing Street chief of staff Jonathan Powell is due to appear before the inquiry.
Later this week, former defence secretary Geoff Hoon and justice secretary Jack Straw, who served as foreign secretary during the 2003 Iraq invasion, will also give evidence to the five-member panel.
Last week, Mr Blair's former director of communications Alastair Campbell gave evidence to the inquiry, during which he defended the controversial 2003 "dodgy dossier".
Mr Blair, however, has long been seen as the star witness and his appearance at the inquiry is expected to attract huge media and public interest in the UK and around the world.