The damning of Tony Blair: Former Prime Minister to be held to account on Iraq in report by UK government's 'Chilcot Inquiry'

Tony Blair is to face scathing criticism from the official inquiry into the Iraq War for the role he played in leading Britain into one of its biggest foreign policy fiascoes in modern history.

The Mail on Sunday has been told that the former Prime Minister will be held to account on four main failings:

* Bogus claims that were made about Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction.

* Not telling the British public about his secret pledge with George Bush to go to war.

* Keeping the Cabinet in the dark by his ‘sofa government’ style.

*Failing to plan to avoid the post-war chaos in Iraq.

Well-placed sources say the reputations of Mr Blair and key allies will suffer major damage when the report by Sir John Chilcot’s Iraq War inquiry is published this autumn.

Mr Blair, former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and ex-Downing Street spin doctor Alastair Campbell are all expected to be criticized.

All those taken to task by Chilcot’s five-strong panel of experts will receive notice in the next few weeks of the inquiry’s conclusions.

They will be given a final chance to respond to their alleged failings before the report is finalized. Although it has not yet been written, clear indications have been given as to which areas it will focus on.

The damning verdict of the Chilcot Inquiry comes eight years after Mr Blair went to war against Saddam Hussein with George Bush.