Britain PM Brown also to blame for Iraq war -poll

The majority of the British public believes Prime Minister Gordon Brown shares the blame for the Iraq war with his predecessor Tony Blair, according to a survey released on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

The poll also found that 37 percent of those questioned between Jan. 29 and 31 believed Blair should be put on trial for going to war in Iraq.

The ComRes poll for The Independent newspaper found that 60 percent of the 1,001 adults questioned agreed Brown should share responsibility with Blair, while 34 percent disagreed.

Just over half of Labour supporters agreed, compared with 68 percent of opposition Conservative voters.

Brown, who was finance minister at the time of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, is due to give evidence to a public inquiry into the Iraq war before an election to be held by June.

Commentators say this could damage his ruling Labour party, which lags the opposition Conservatives in opinion polls, at the ballot box.

The decision to go to war mostly is pinned on Blair. The most controversial episode of his 10-year premiership, the war sapped support for Blair and his party.

But Brown faces criticism for decisions on defence spending which critics say have hampered British operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.