Tony Blair will be pursued through the courts for "every penny" of the fortune he has earned since leaving Downing Street, the families of soldiers killed in Iraq vowed.
Mr Blair faces a civil law suit over allegations he abused his power as prime minister to wage war in Iraq. The damages, according to legal sources close to the case, are unlimited.
A well-placed source told The Telegraph that the Chilcot report appeared to provide grounds for the launch of a lawsuit.
“It gives us a lot of threads to pursue and those threads make a powerful rope to catch him,” said the source.
So far 29 families of dead soldiers have asked the law firm McCue & Partners to pursue a claim against Mr Blair. Others are expected to come on board.
The firm is looking at bringing a civil case of misfeasance in public office, which would see Mr Blair dragged through the courts for the first time over his decision to take the UK to war.
Legal sources say for any case to be successful, lawyers would have to show that Mr Blair “had acted in excess of his powers” and that in doing so “harm has been caused and that the harm could have been predicted”.
Sir John Chilcot, in his findings published on Wednesday, said Mr Blair should have seen the problems that resulted from the invasion in 2003 and came as he could to suggesting the military action was illegal.
Mr Blair has earned a fortune estimated at as much as £60 million since resigning as prime minister in 2007, largely through a complex network of companies that offers investment and strategic advice to private companies and international governments.
Reg Keys, whose son Tom was one of six Royal Military Police killed at Majar al-Kabir in 2003, said: “Tony Blair has made a lot of money from public office which I believe he misused. He misused the powers of that office and has gone on to make a lot of money after leaving that office, a lot of it from the contacts he made while in Downing Street.”
Mr Keys, who famously stood against Mr Blair in the 2005 election, added: “I would like to see him stripped of every penny he has got. I would like to see him dragged through the civil courts.”
Roger Bacon, whose son Matt Bacon, a major in the Intelligence Corps, was killed in a roadside bomb in 2005, said: “I would like to see Tony Blair in court and answering questions under oath for the actions he took. I don’t know how he has made his money but he has done it on the back of being prime minister.
“There should be recompense for the actions he took. Chilcot has found him wanting.
“The misfeasance case allows us to sue him for unlimited damages. I would like those damages to be out into a fund for the rebuilding of Iraq. It would go some small way to make recompense for what happened there.”
Matthew Jury, managing partner of McCue & Partners, said: “It’s possible that legal action may be taken. The report is full and comprehensive. We will need time to read through the report fully before we decide what steps to take next.”
Mr Blair has insisted he acted in good faith based on the intelligence in the run up to the war. He has denied making a huge fortune and insists he is worth no more than £10 million.