Britain's Tony Blair wanted 'peaceful' Iraq solution

At a public inquiry on the conflict, Alistair Campbell, Blair's spin doctor and one of his closest allies, said the former premier had wanted to pursue a diplomatic route right up to a crucial vote on the Iraq war in the House of Commons on March 18, 2003.

"He's not doing this because George Bush wants him to do it, this was his genuine belief that Iraq had to be confronted over its continued defiance of the UN," Campbell said.

"That's his position and that's a policy that he pursued the whole way through, right to the House of Commons vote... Right to that point, the prime minister was hopeful this thing could be resolved peacefully."

He added: "I think the prime minister was all the way through, trying to get it resolved without a single shot being fired".

US-led forces, strongly supported by Britain, began their invasion of Iraq two days after the House of Commons vote, despite the lack of explicit backing from the UN Security Council.

Campbell is the first big name witness to appear before the Chilcot inquiry to face questions about the intelligence Britain used to make the case for war.