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John Prescott today turns on old boss Tony Blair to declare the Iraq War illegal.

And he makes a heartfelt apology to families of 179 dead UK soldiers for the part he played as Deputy PM.

In his Sunday Mirror column, Lord Prescott expresses “great sadness and anger”.

Of UN chief Kofi Annan ’s assessment the invasion was illegal, Lord Prescott adds: “I now believe him to be right.”

He blames Mr Blair for not allowing Cabinet ministers sufficient documentary evidence to base decisions on.

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Lord Prescott says there was no paperwork even when Attorney General Lord Goldsmith told the Cabinet the war was justified.

He writes: “The Attorney General verbally announced it was legal, but provided no documentation to justify it.

(Image: Getty Images)

"The timing was clearly designed to endorse an almost immediate action for us to go to war.”

The war cost the UK government £9.6billion and the official Iraqi death toll was around 150,000 – but other estimates put it as high as 600,000.