Mr Blair said he had "to accept we haven't found them and we may never find them", but this doesn't mean Saddam Hussein wasn't a threat.

He said that the former Iraqi Leader had broken UN resolutions and his weapons may have been "removed, hidden or destroyed".

Mr Blair was being questioned by senior MPs in his twice yearly appearance before the Commons Liaison Committee.

He said Saddam Hussein had previously had weapons of mass destruction and there was "very clear evidence" of his desire to develop and use them.

But he added: "I have to accept we haven't found them and we may never find them, We don't know what has happened to them.