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Tony Blair came under fire in the Commons for his government's role in the rendition case of former Libyan dissident Abdul Hakim Belhaj and his wife Fatima Boudchar.

Mr Belhaj and Ms Boudchar have fought a long legal battle over their claim that they were kidnapped and returned to Libya in 2004 in a joint M16-CIA operation linked to Tony Blair's infamous "deal in the desert" with Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Conservative former minister Sir Edward Leigh said MPs could criticise the former prime minister even if the current Government said it would not.

He also questioned if Mr Blair would apologise.

Conservative Philip Hollobone (Kettering) said it was right there should be a Government apology to the couple if the intelligence services failed under Mr Blair's government.

But he questioned the scale of the £500,000 compensation paid to Ms Boudchar, with Attorney General Jeremy Wright insisting the need for a payout was "beyond doubt" and part of the "appropriate approach" adopted by the Government.

(Image: AFP)

Speaking in the Commons, Sir Edward said: "The minister says he can't criticise or shouldn't criticise the Blair government, but we can.

"Has any apology been given this morning from Mr Blair for rendering the opponent of a murderous regime into the hands of that regime?

"I doubt if any apology has been given any more than any apology over Iraq."

(Image: PA)

Mr Wright replied: "He knows, and he's done it with me, we've spent a good deal of time over the previous decade or so criticising the Blair government, but my purpose today is to resolve the individual case which I have reported to the House."

He added it was worth defending the principle that the Government as an institution should take responsibility.

SNP justice spokeswoman Joanna Cherry earlier asked for assurances that such a case could not take place again under a UK Government.

She also asked: "Can he tell us whether the investigations that have gone into settling this claim have uncovered whether what happened here is part of the dark side of Tony Blair's deal in the desert with Gaddafi in 2004?"

(Image: PA) (Image: PA)

Mr Wright, in his reply, said he could not comment in detail about the behaviour of the former Labour government.

He also said: "In relation to the broader picture, she will recognise too that it is vital that the British Government and its agencies are able to recover intelligence that enables us to keep the British people safe, and it is difficult to give the absolute assurances that she seeks.

"The best I think any Government can do is to put in place the processes and practices that mean the right values are applied to the judgments that we have to take, including in what are very difficult cases.

"I think I've been clear that on this occasion we didn't get those judgments right and we must do better in the future."

(Image: Dan Kitwood)

Conservative former minister Andrew Mitchell asked: "Will he ensure that he sends to his opposite number in Washington the relevant details of this issue in respect of Gina Haspel, whose hearings for the role of director of the CIA are currently taking place and who was involved in the management of the black site in Thailand where Fatima Boudchar was held and so grievously mistreated?"

Mr Wright, in his reply, said: "He will understand, I'm sure, that I will not wish to be involved in the processes of the appointment of the new director of the CIA."

(Image: Dan Kitwood)

Mr Hollobone added: "If there was a failure of the intelligence services under the Tony Blair government then it's right an apology should be made.

"But my constituents in Kettering frankly will be stunned by the scale of the compensation, half a million pounds is a sum they could never aspire to them themselves."

Mr Wright, in his reply, said: "(Mr Hollobone) has my assurance, conscious as I am of the need to ensure that no further taxpayer money was spent that did not need to be... the necessity of compensating for what happened (Ms Boudchar) is in my view beyond doubt and is part of the appropriate approach the Government now needs to take."