Blair is defiant over war 'errors' He won't apologise.

Byline: By Pippa Crerar

INSISTENT: Blair said he was right to go to warTONY Blair held his hands up to errors in pre-war intelligence yesterday - but refused to say sorry.

The Prime Minister insisted he was right to go to war in Iraq, as Saddam Hussein had still proved to be a threat.

During a Commons debate, Blair insisted the Government would learn from criticisms in last week's Butler report.

Looking tired, he told MPs: 'I said at the very beginning these are the things I believe the Butler report has identified that we should change.

Mistake 'I fully accept those things. What I don't accept is that it was a mistake to go to war. I still think it was the right thing to do.'

He said there would be a shake-up in the way intelligence could be used in the run-up to war.

He will abandon his informal 'sofa' style of Government with key ministers meeting in his Downing Street 'den'.

Instead, an ad-hoc war Cabinet would be formed to hold minuted meetings if war looked likely.

MI6 were examining how to carry out Lord Butler's recommendations after his report found pre-war intelligence was 'deeply flawed'.

The PM agreed that warnings on the limits of intelligence should be included in the future.

Joint Intelligence Committee assessments would be published separately from the Government's case for war.

But Tory leader Michael Howard said: 'He hasn't been straight with the British people today.'

The Butler report said pre-war evidence of WMD was 'sporadic and patchy', while Blair presented it as 'extensive and authoritative'.

Howard questioned why that was the case and asked why, for the PM, 'sorry seems to be the hardest word'.

LibDem leader Charles Kennedy also called on Blair to demonstrate 'genuine contrition'.

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CRITICISM: Howard