Britain's Tony Blair, on his last visit to Iraq as prime minister, said on Saturday he had no regrets about his part in the US-led invasion that removed Saddam Hussein.

On a farewell trip to a country whose future may define his legacy after a decade in power, Blair met Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani and discussed the situation in Iraq which is beset by sectarian violence.  “I have no regrets about removing Saddam, no,” Blair told a joint news conference with Maliki and Talabani after their talks about how to bring about greater political reconciliation.

“The future of Iraq should be determined by Iraqis in accordance with their wishes and it is important that all the neighbouring countries understand and respect that,” he said.

A mortar round, part of a pattern of daily bombardments, landed in the heavily fortified Green Zone as Blair arrived, witnesses said. But Blair's spokesman said: “No information suggest that this was other than usual business”.

Blair's decision to join US President George W Bush and send British troops to topple Saddam in 2003 despite huge opposition at home was the defining moment of his rule.

Speaking on the BBC's Newsnight programme, former US President Jimmy Carter said Blair could have exerted greater influence over Bush and his government had shown “subservience” towards the White House over Iraq and other areas of foreign policy.

“I have been really disappointed in the apparent subservience of the British government's policies related to many of the serious mistakes that have been originated in Washington,” the 81-year-old former President said. Lingering resentment from the public and within the ruling Labour Party over Blair's steadfast support for Bush and the war ultimately forced him to cut short his third term. He will quit on June 27 and finance minister Gordon Brown will take over.

Four years after the invasion, US and British forces face daily attacks from insurgents, sectarian violence is undermining the state and officials within and outside Maliki's coalition admit stabilising Iraq is almost impossible.
But Blair believes there have been positive political developments and he wants to discuss a coherent plan with Maliki to see faster progress.

“We need to take advantage of the possible momentum in Iraqi politics to create the space for long-term security,” Blair's official spokesman told reporters.

“The key to that is reconciliation ensuring the needs of Iraqis of different communities are properly taken into account and a lasting political accommodation is reached between them.”

But for now, Blair's legacy remains tarnished by Iraq -- despite helping to bring peace to Northern Ireland and the success of military intervention in Kosovo and Sierra Leone.

What rankles is the perception that Blair took Britain to war over a lie -- that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. A poll for the Observer newspaper this year, showed 58 percent of Britons believed Iraq was Blair's biggest failure.

British forces initially seemed to have done well in Basra, a predominantly Shi'ite city in the south not plagued by the sectarian violence of Baghdad, nor prone to many strikes on foreign troops.

But security in Basra has deteriorated in the past few years as rival Shi'ite militias battle for control of the vast oil wealth in Iraq's richest city and the gateway to the Gulf.

Attacks on British forces have been rising and April 2007 was the deadliest month since the invasion. Britain is in the process of cutting its force in Basra to 5,500 from 7,000 and drawing back most troops to the international airport.

In a propaganda coup for militants, the army deemed it too dangerous to let Prince Harry, an army officer and third in line to the British throne, risk active service in southern Iraq.