The attorney general hopes to block a private prosecution against Tony Blair over the Iraq war, a report says.

The Guardian claims that Jeremy Wright QC will step in over the case raised by the Iraqi army’s former chief of staff.

The newspaper says it has seen legal papers showing General Abdul-Wahid Shannan ar-Ribat wants to prosecute the former Labour prime minister for the crime of “aggression”.

But it says a court ruled in 2016 Mr Blair could not be prosecuted.

The Guardian says the case also wants to bring the prosecution against former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and ex-Attorney General Lord Goldsmith.

Could Tony Blair face legal action over Iraq War?

Lawyers who want to pursue the prosecution based their argument on the findings of last year’s Chilcot report, which concluded that the UK chose to carry out the 2003 invasion in Iraq “before the peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted”.

Imran Khan, one of the lawyers bringing the case, told the Guardian: “My client wants those responsible held to account and prosecuted using the full force of the law.

“He is baffled as to why it is that despite the Chilcot report making it very clear that the war was illegal, attempts are now being made to prevent those responsible from entering a court, let alone being prosecuted for what they did.”

‘Implied immunity’

However, the Guardian reports that an application made to Westminster magistrates court last year to summon Mr Blair was refused by district judge Michael Snow.

It said that, as the former head of the government, and as government ministers, the trio had “implied immunity”, and that the allegations could “involve details being disclosed under the Official Secrets Act”.

Now Mr Wright, who is also the Conservative MP for Kenilworth and Southam, is reported to have formally asked to join future hearings of the case and has called for the attempt to prosecute Mr Blair and his aides to be rejected, according to legal papers seen by the newspaper.

His spokeswoman told the Press Association: “He is seeking to intervene in this case because it raises issues about the scope of criminal law.

“It is not unusual for the attorney general to intervene in these sort of cases in order to represent the public interest.”