Chilcot report: Jeremy Corbyn 'warned against criticising Tony Blair' over Iraq war

Ms Thornberry reportedly told ministers she had warned Labour leader to avoid wrongly accusing anybody of war crimes

Mr Corbyn has reportedly been warned to avoid criticising the former prime minister ahead of the Chilcot Inquiry (Getty)

A senior shadow cabinet minister has reportedly warned Jeremy Corbyn that he should avoid making allegations against Mr Blair over the Iraq war ahead of the Chilcot inquiry.

Emily Thornberry, former shadow defence secretary who last week was promoted to shadow foreign secretary, told colleagues in a meeting last month that she has warned Mr Corbyn to avoid criticising the former prime minister, a source told The Times.

When the Chilcot report was raised during the meeting on the party’s defence policy on 13 June, Ms Thornberry appeared to reject the suggestion that the party should stand firm and defend its role in the 2003 conflict.

But she is said to have made clear that she believed the Labour leader and other prominent figures should avoid making personal accusations against people involved with the Iraq war, telling ministers present she had warned Mr Corbyn to avoid wrongly accusing anybody of war crimes.

The revelation came amid speculation Mr Corbyn could publicly criticise Mr Blair over the findings of the Chilcot report.

Alex Salmond recently appeared to suggest the current internal Labour party coup against Mr Corbyn was connected to the publication of the long-awaited report on the Iraq War, suggesting it was an attempt to avoid the leader “calling for Blair’s head”.

The Chilcot inquiry covers almost a decade of policy decisions made between 2001 and 2009, analysing the decisions over the war, including whether troops were properly prepared, how the conflict was conducted and the planning put in place for its aftermath.

Parents of British servicemen killed in Iraq said they hoped the report would provide grounds for them to take legal action over the Iraq War.

British troops invaded Iraq in 2003 as part of an international coalition led by the US, military action that led to the collapse of the regime of Saddam Hussein, who had ruled the country since the late 1970s.

A total of 179 British service personnel were killed in Iraq between 2003 and 2009, and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians died over the period