Howard: Continuing personal attacks on PM

Michael Howard has defended his decision to call Tony Blair a "liar" following the latest revelations on Iraq.

The Conservative leader refused to use the language about other members of the government, but said the attorney general's newly published legal advice on the conflict had backed up his allegation of deception.

"The fact is that the intelligence was described as sporadic, limited and patchy; the fact is that Mr Blair didn't use any of those words but instead said the intelligence was extensive, detailed and authoritative," he said.

"There is a huge difference between those two sets of words. Mr Blair simply wasn't telling the truth."

Although he drew back from saying Lord Goldsmith or the foreign secretary had lied, he suggested that "every member of the government may well be complicit in this to some extent or other".

Judgement

Howard earlier called on the British people to pass "judgement" on the trustworthiness of Blair in the wake of the revelations.