The Reverend Tony snubbed after memorial for Iraq dead

Saintly former British prime minister Tony Blair was told he had "blood on his hands" by the father of a dead soldier yesterday, after a memorial for the fallen of the Iraq war in London.

The ex-premier joined Queen Elizabeth II, Iraq's President Jalal Talabani, current Prime Minister Gordon Brown as well as soldiers and families at a service paying tribute to the 179 troops who died as a result of the 2003 war.

The snub came at a reception held after the memorial in St. Paul's Cathedral, where the archbishop of Canterbury criticised policymakers for failing to properly consider the human cost of the Iraq war.



Peter Brierley, whose 28-year-old son Shaun died in March 2003, refused to shake Blair's hand when he offered it, telling the ex premier: "I'm not shaking your hand, you've got blood on it."

Blair was ushered away, but afterwards Brierley said: "I understand soldiers go to war and die but they have to go to war for a good reason and be properly equipped to fight.

"I believe Tony Blair is a war criminal. I can't bear to be in the same room as him. I can't believe he's been allowed to come to this reception," he added after the reception at the Guildhall in central London.