Blair: Iraq uprising would have been 'worse than Syria'

Former UK PM Tony Blair has told the BBC he has no regrets over Iraq on the 10th anniversary of the country's invasion - and said the situation otherwise would have been "a lot worse than Syria".

The UK lost 179 servicemen and women, while at least 100,000 Iraqis died in the invasion and ensuing violence.

However, speaking about former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, Mr Blair said, "How can you regret removing a monster who created enormous carnage?"

He told Norman Smith, "If you examine what's happening in Syria - just reflect on what Bashar al-Assad, who is a 20th as bad as Saddam, is doing to his people today and the number of lives already lost."