Tony Blair is to be heavily criticised for his role in leading the UK to war in Iraq, according to the Mail on Sunday.

The paper points to a number of damning points, saying:

• • The Chilcot inquiry will criticise Mr Blair for failing to admit a secret pact he made with former president George Bush in 2002.
  • Mr Blair apparently withheld vital information from cabinet colleagues, preferring instead, a ‘sofa style government’ with a close knit group of allies.
  • He was also be heavily criticised for failing to come up with a post war plan for Iraq.
  •  The inquiry is thought to be most damning regarding Mr Blair’s claim to parliament that Saddam Hussein’s possession of WMD was ‘beyond doubt’. Blair claims to have misunderstood the infamous 45 minute claim dossier, in which it was argued that Saddam Hussein could launch WMD in 45 minutes. This claim was later found to be nonsense.

A spokesman for Tony Blair said: “This is a deliberate attempt to pre-judge a report that hasn’t even been written yet. We’re not going comment until it has been published.”

Spin doctor Alistair Campbell and former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw are also thought to come in for heavy criticism.

If the allegations prove to be true, what justice will the British public now demand? Some of the criticisms are the result of incompetence or lack of foresight. However, others, such as failing to disclose the secret war pact and the WMD claim, raise a vitally important question. Was there a deliberate attempt to mislead the British public?

We will have to wait until Autumn for the full Chilcot inquiry to be published.