British Prime Minister Tony Blair says he has no regrets over the war on Iraq despite questions about its justification after the death of a scientist.
Speaking to Chinese students during a tour of the Far East, Mr Blair today said he would not comment in detail on the apparent suicide of British scientist Dr David Kelly after becoming embroiled in a row over Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and the case the British government made for war.
"No, I don't regret it [the war]. I've no doubt at all that Iraq was trying to develop these weapons. I believe, however difficult it was, that it was the right thing to do," Mr Blair told a student questioner at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
He said the Iraq survey group had only just begun to do their work, and when they came to make their report, "people will see what the truth is".
The failure to find weapons of mass destruction in post-war Iraq has severely damaged Mr Blair's popularity and undermined his government's credibility.
The death of Dr Kelly, a former UN weapons inspector, has piled pressure on Mr Blair and sparked some calls for his resignation.
Government ministers had named Dr Kelly as the source of allegations aired on the BBC that Mr Blair's officials had "sexed up" the report justifying war.
The prime minister has said he will give independence to Lord Hutton, who is running the inquiry into Dr Kelly's death.