British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair today accepted that he needed to rebuild public trust following the war in Iraq and the death of government weapons expert Dr David Kelly.
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At his final Downing Street press conference before his summer break, Mr Blair acknowledged that the question of public trust was "an issue we have to confront".
But he insisted Britain had been right to go to war with Iraq to get rid of Saddam Hussein.
And he said that in the end the public would judge the government on domestic issues like the economy and public services, where its record stood comparison with any British government of the past.
"There is an enormous amount still to do but those achievements are real and I believe will be sustainable," he said.
"The overall record is one that bears comparison with any government, Labour or Conservative, in the past.
"I believe that we have done what we were elected to do. To keep the economy stable, to get people back to work, to invest in our public services and in doing so create a country that is more modern, stronger and more fair.
"It is the combination of economic efficiency and social justice that marks this Government out from its predecessors and is the platform on which we must build."
Mr Blair repeatedly refused to be drawn on questions about the death of Dr Kelly - who was the BBC source for claims that the government "sexed up" its dossier on Iraqi - saying it was a matter for the inquiry under Lord Hutton.
Mr Blair said that he still believed that the intelligence the British government published before the war on Iraq's weapons programmes was correct.
"There has always been something bizarre about the notion that Saddam never had any weapons of mass destruction," he said.
"I remain very firmly of the view that this was a threat that had to be dealt with and that Iraq would be a significantly better place because of the action we have taken."
And he said that whatever the criticisms at home, the fall of Saddam Hussein had been welcomed by the vast majority of the Iraqi people.
"There is no doubt at all that the vast majority of people in Iraq are delighted that Saddam has gone.
"For all the difficulties on security and services and all the rest of it they are overjoyed that their country has been liberated from the rule of Saddam."
Despite the difficulties the Government had faced, Mr Blair insisted that his appetite for office was "undiminished", joking at one point that England cricket captain Nasser Hussain had had a more difficult job.
PA
