Philippe Sands QC: 'Legal planning was unsatisfactory'

Philippe Sands QC, an expert in international law, told the BBC:

“Rather like the military planning, the legal planning was found to be unsatisfactory by Chilcot and his team," he said. "It is pretty devastating stuff.”

Sands said that he was initially “concerned about the level of questioning” during the inquiry but that his fears were “misplaced,” calling the report “thorough, fair and balanced”.

He said Blair’s decision to go to war in Iraq was one of “gross recklessness.”

He concluded that his long-time argument that the decision was taken by Blair before informing cabinet was “now established beyond doubt.”