Fri Jan 02 14:09:48 UTC 2026: Headline: Newly Released Documents Suggest Blair Pressured Officials to Shield UK Soldiers from War Crime Trials
London, UK – Newly declassified UK government documents reveal that former Prime Minister Tony Blair allegedly pressured officials to prevent British soldiers accused of mistreating Iraqi civilians during the Iraq War from being tried in civil courts, raising renewed scrutiny of the UK’s role in the controversial conflict.
The documents, released to the National Archives, show that in 2005, Blair emphasized it was “essential” that courts, including the International Criminal Court (ICC), not investigate UK actions in Iraq. Blair stressed, “We have, in effect, to be in a position where the ICC is not involved and neither is CPS (UK Crown Prosecution Service). That is essential.”
The files record that Blair issued instruction to Antony Phillipson that civil courts did not prosecute British soldiers accused of abusing Iraqi civilians in their custody during the war in Iraq.
The decision to join the war, launched by the US with UK support in 2003, has been widely criticized. The conflict resulted in the deaths of over 200,000 Iraqi civilians, 179 British soldiers, and more than 4,000 US soldiers.
The ICC had opened an inquiry into British war crimes in Iraq but ultimately closed it in 2020, citing the UK government’s apparent lack of obstruction of investigations. However, rights groups have condemned this decision, arguing that it perpetuates a double standard in justice.
Christopher Featherstone, associate lecturer at the Department of Politics, University of York, stated the Iraq war has become synonymous in UK politics with Blair and his legacy.
He explained that Blair was “very concerned about potential prosecution for UK soldiers as this would only amplify opposition to the war, at home and abroad.”
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