‘Straw warned Blair off Iraq war’

According to experienced political journalist John Kampfner, Straw urged his boss to tell Washington that Britain would offer political and moral support but no troops. ‘‘Straw had cold feet with the failure to get the second resolution at the UN,’’ Kampfner told the BBC.

Neither Downing Street nor the Foreign Office would comment on his claims.

Kampfner said he had interviewed 40 key government players. ‘‘I stand by the book and the sourcing of it,’’ he said. His report follows the revelation last week that Blair ignored warnings from British spy chiefs that war would increase rather than lower the risk of militants like Al Qaeda acquiring weapons of mass destruction.

Blair denies he ‘‘sexed up’’ a dossier on the threat posed by Iraq, but no banned weapons — his main reason for war — have been found five months after Saddam Hussein’s overthrow. (Reuters)