TONY Blair today laid bare divisions in the Labour Party and his relationship with “maddening” Gordon Brown.
In his memoirs, released today, former prime minister Blair reveals the depth of the rift between the figures who dominated British politics during his years at the top.
In the book, A Journey, Mr Blair said he was put under “relentless personal pressure” by Mr Brown but could not sack his Chancellor because he feared that would lead to him being ousted earlier.
Blair also spoke of his sadness at the lives lost in the Iraq conflict, but stressed he felt justified in going to war.
In the book, Mr Blair says he was powerless to prevent his successor Mr Brown moving from No 11 to No 10 Downing Street.
He says: “It is easy to say now, in the light of his tenure as Prime Minister, that I should have stopped it. At the time that would have been well nigh impossible.”
Mr Blair acknowledged the strengths that made Mr Brown a formidable rival, and suggested his power base within the party and media would have made it difficult to remove him.
“Was he difficult, at times maddening? Yes. But he was also strong, capable and brilliant, and those were qualities for which I never lost respect.”
Brown added: “When it’s said that I should have sacked him, or demoted him, this takes no account of the fact that had I done so, the party and the government would have been severely and immediately destabilised and his ascent to the office of Prime Minister would probably have been even faster.”
Mr Blair also says he felt a duty to “protect the monarchy from itself” in the aftermath of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
The books also covers the Northern Ireland peace talks and war in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan.
The Iraq war inevitably features at length, with Mr Blair acknowledging the “anguish” he feels about the conflict but asserting that leaving Saddam Hussein in power would have been a “bigger risk” than removing him.
Mr Blair also admitted using alcohol as a “prop” to escape from the pressures of being Prime Minister, but insisted that he was not an “excessively excessive” drinker and always believed he was “in control” of his alcohol intake.