Was told to burn memo that said Iraq war could be illegal: Former UK defence secretary

Former UK defense secretary Geoff Hoon has said that he was told by former UK PM Tony Blair's office to burn a secret memo that said the 2003 invasion of Iraq could be illegal.

Hoon made the claims in his memoir, "See How They Run", reports the Daily Mail. 

In the book, he has described his shock at being told to destroy secret advice from attorney general Lord Goldsmith on the legality of the war in the run-up to the conflict.

It was later revealed that Lord Goldsmith said the war could be illegal. Days before the fighting began, he changed his mind and said it was legal.

The claim first emerged in 2015, and Tony Blair said it was "nonsense". But  Hoon, who was in charge of defence when the war started, insists the allegation was true and he has now given a sensational blow-by-blow account of a 10 "cover-up".

The official Chilcot report on the Iraq War delivered a devastating verdict in 2016 about the handling and presentation of intelligence and the justification for military action.

Geoff Hoon has said that his principal private secretary was told "in no uncertain terms" by Jonathan Powell, Tony Blair's chief of staff, that after reading the document he must "burn it". 

The claim has boosted the campaign to strip Tony Blair of his knighthood.

It has been alleged that Tony Blair signed a "deal in blood" with former US president George Bush to back the war a year before it began.