Poll: Blair misled public over WMD
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LONDON, England (CNN) -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair intentionally misled the public over Iraqi weapons, according to a majority of people questioned in a survey for CNN.
Monday's CNN/Time poll, conducted by TNS in the UK, Germany and France, showed 51 percent thought Blair had deliberately misled voters.
This view was highest in France (58 percent), followed by Germany (53 percent), then Britain (42 percent).
Blair remains under pressure over evidence about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMD), used to justify British troops being sent to Iraq.
Two government investigations are examining the controversy, while Blair is also due to appear before another inquiry into the events surrounding the death of Ministry of Defence scientist David Kelly, the man named as a source for a BBC report that the government "sexed up" evidence on WMD.
The poll also showed that 26 percent of respondents thought the U.S. and UK were right to invade Iraq based on uncertain intelligence, with 66 percent against.
The percentage of those who felt it was wrong to invade was highest in Germany (75 percent), followed by France (72 percent). In Britain, opinion was more evenly divided with 45 percent opposing the occupation and 42 percent in favor.
In other issues covered by the survey, only 15 percent of respondents thought Silvio Berlusconi -- prime minister of Italy which holds the rotating European Union presidency -- was fit to be the public face of the EU, with 65 percent against.
And most Europeans remain doubtful about genetically-modified food, the poll suggests, with only 26 percent saying they would be comfortable buying GM products.
The poll was carried out July 18-20 with 1,000 people questioned in each of the three countries.
