Britain should withdraw from the International Criminal Court if it pursues war crimes charges against rank and file soldiers in the wake of the Chilcot report but ignores claims against Tony Blair, a former defence minister has claimed.

Sir Gerald Howarth, the Conservative MP, said that it would be “completely contemptible” for the ICC to seek to use Sir John Chilcot's report, which will finally be published on Wednesday, as a basis for war crimes charges against British troops.

In an official statement issued to the Sunday Telegraph, the Office of the Prosecutor at the ICC said the body would examine the Sir John’s 2.3 million-word report for evidence of abuse and torture by British soldiers, but had ruled out putting Tony Blair on trial for war crimes.