Prime Minister Gordon Brown will appear at Britain's Iraq war inquiry before this year's elections, its chairman said yesterday, forcing the divisive conflict right up the campaign agenda.
Mr Brown was initially told by the Chilcot inquiry he could not give evidence before voting takes place in the general election, expected to be on May 6.
That changed after Mr Brown faced intense pressure from political rivals for full disclosure on the 2003 invasion, when he was Tony Blair's finance minister and about which he has previously said relatively little.
Now his inquiry appearance - plus that of former prime minister Blair next Friday - risks reviving memories of a controversial war which Britain was led into by their Labour administration.
Mr Brown's spokesman insisted he had "nothing to hide at all" and was "keen to take up the opportunity to state the case why Britain was right to take the action it did".
Earlier, inquiry chairman John Chilcot said he had invited Mr Brown to appear ahead of the election after receiving a letter from the premier. In a note to Mr Brown published by the inquiry, he also voiced concern about the "mounting risk" of his probe being hijacked for political ends.
With Labour around 10 points behind the main opposition Conservatives in opinion polls, Mr Brown's opponents are likely to scrutinise his evidence for lines of attack.
Although the Conservatives also backed the conflict, Brown could be vulnerable to criticism over the funding of Britain's war effort. Ex-defence secretary Geoff Hoon accused Mr Brown during his evidence on Tuesday of depriving the armed forces of funds in the run-up to the invasion, when Mr Brown was finance minister.
The premier could also face questions about whether he tried to talk Mr Blair out of the war, which he supported in a crucial 2003 House of Commons vote.
Mr Blair's former communications chief Alastair Campbell told the probe last week that Mr Brown was one of the "key ministers" his boss consulted at the time. Mr Brown could be questioned in late February or early March, just weeks before the election. The poll must be held by June and although no date has officially been confirmed, all indications point to May 6.
Conservative leader David Cameron said Mr Brown had made "the right decision" by appearing before the election.
"He was cChancellor of the Exchequer (Finance Minister) at the time," he said. "He's got some important questions to answer and I'm glad they are going to be asked, and I hope answered, before the general election."
Commentators said the appearance could prove tricky for Mr Brown and Labour in the run-up to the poll.
"On the one hand, this could damage Brown, reminding voters that this was a 'Labour war'," said a commentary in the centre-left New Statesman magazine.
"On the other hand, Brown strategists believe... this could be a chance for Brown to level with the British people."
Current Foreign Secretary David Miliband and International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander are also being given the chance to appear before the election and have indicated they would be willing to.
The Chilcot inquiry was announced by Mr Brown in June, honouring a pledge to examine the conflict once British troops withdrew from Iraq. He initially said it would be held in private but was forced to backtrack after a public uproar.
Mr Blair faced intense public hostility after backing then US President George W. Bush in the war, during which 179 British soldiers died.
His popularity plummeted and he stepped down in 2007 after 10 years in office, handing the premiership to Mr Brown.
Major demonstrations are expected in London when Mr Blair appears before the probe.