Blair: Saddam execution was 'completely wrong'

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Tony Blair's office said Sunday the prime minister believed the manner in which former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was executed was "completely wrong," adding to criticism aired by senior ministers and Blair's likely successor, Gordon Brown. Blair planned to speak publicly about the hanging later this week, but believed that process had been poorly handled, his office said. Treasury chief Gordon Brown, who is expected to succeed Blair as prime minister this year, said on Saturday that the taunting of Saddam during his execution and the release of illicitly recorded video was "deplorable" and "completely unacceptable." Iraqi Prime Minster Nour al-Maliki has ordered an inquiry into the emergence of the unofficial video, on which Saddam is heard exchanging insults with his executioners.