Blair faces Iraq inquiry next year

By Michael Holden

LONDON (Reuters) - Former Prime Minister Tony Blair will face questioning next year about Britain's entry into the Iraq war from a committee which has heard the decision was illegal and based on deception, its chairman said on Friday.

The order to send 45,000 British troops to take part in the 2003 invasion to topple Saddam Hussein has always been controversial and led to massive anti-war protests in London.

During meetings with the inquiry committee held before the formal hearings begin, relatives of British soldiers killed during the conflict accused Blair of taking Britain into an illegal war and deceiving the public.

A government dossier justifying military action before the war included the claim that Saddam was capable of launching weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes.

No such weapons were found, leading to accusations that Blair had distorted intelligence.

Inquiry chairman John Chilcot said the five-member inquiry committee would start public hearings on November 24 before moving onto the questioning of senior politicians in January.

"We will use the first five weeks of hearings to help establish a reliable account of the essential features of the UK's involvement in Iraq," the former civil servant said in a statement.

The panel will start by hearing from senior officials and military officers who advised ministers or helped shape government policies, and how those policies were communicated.