FORMER Prime Minister Tony Blair has insisted the public are starting to change their opinion on the effects of his decision to invade Iraq in 2003.
Blair claimed the Government's decision not to heavily intervene in Syria was a clear example of how "difficult" conflict management could be.
And the Labour party's longest serving Prime Minister said he could see support for "a more measured analysis" of his point of view "beginning to happen".
Asked why the Iraq conflict still causes outrage across the UK, the former Prime Minister said his justification for taking the country to war was still a "huge issue" for the public.
Speaking to Politico, he said: "Because it was a hugely contested decision, and because the intelligence turned out to be, in many cases, faulty, and obviously that’s a huge issue for people.
"But it’s also because I think it raises in a very profound way, what is the answer to the problems of the Middle East?
"And some people say, 'Well, the problems of the Middle East all stem from—you wouldn’t have this extremism but for the invasion of Iraq'.
"And this is—but this is so contested.
"I think in time, by the way, and I can see this beginning to happen, particularly as the result of Syria, where people can see also the costs of non-intervention, I think people are coming to a more measured analysis.
"But I think this debate will continue until the history of the Middle East settles.
"We’ve tried three forms of intervention in the Middle East – we’ve tried full-on intervention in Iraq, we’ve tried semi-intervention in Libya, and we tried non-intervention or very limited intervention in Syria.
"All of them are difficult."The beleaguered former PM's comments come as Blair re-enters mainstream politics – and attempts to subvert the will of the British people by going against Brexit.
The former Prime Minister recently caused outrage by meeting with Eurocrat in chief Jean Claude Juncker amid vital Brexit negotiations.
And Mr Blair told an American summit last week Brexit would "diminish" Britain in the eyes of the world.
He claimed Britain will be “relegated” in its position as he appeared alongside former Labour favourite David Miliband, who said Britons were “victims” and ordered a “push back” against the people's choice to leave.
The former PM said: “To take ourselves out of the biggest political union, and the largest commercial market, right on our doorstep, is going I think to diminish us and relegate us as a country.”