Tony Blair on Crawford and Iran, with a shaking hand

You get the strong impression listening to Tony Blair that if he was still in charge there would be a loud drumbeat of military pressure against Iran right now.

Mr Blair acknowledged that he told President Bush at Crawford ranch as early as April 2002 that Britain would be with US if there was military action.

He did that on the basis of one strategic meeting at Chequers in March 2002 in a room with no one who disagreed, from what we could work out.

Were there conditions attached to this pledge, he was asked? The answer, I paraphrase, was you don’t operate like that with your main strategic ally. It doesn’t work like that.

Not under you, some of his critics will argue.

The critics on the demo outside by the way are pretty thin on the ground.

Tony Blair’s hand shook as he poured himself a glass of water on arrival in the hot seat. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before. He clasped his hands to steady them.