[JURIST] UK Prime Minister Tony Blair [JURIST news archive], a staunch supporter of President Bush's Iraq policy, broke a week-long silence on the circumstances of the hanging of Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] Sunday, saying through a spokesperson that the filmed execution which showed Hussein taunted on the gallows was "completely wrong." He plans to speak personally on the hanging sometime this week. Blair's comment came soon after UK Chancellor Gordon Brown [official profile] denounced the circumstances surrounding Saddam's death as "deplorable" in a televised interview [BBC report] broadcast Sunday morning local time. UK Deputy Prime Minister John Precott similarly derided the manner of Hussein's execution [JURIST report] in a BBC radio interview last week.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has defended the Saddam execution as a domestic affair and said Saturday that the Iraqi government may have to review its relationships [JURIST report] with countries critical of the hanging. BBC News has more. The Daily Mail has local coverage.