A senior Army officer has told the Iraq Inquiry he urged Tony Blair to delay the invasion of Iraq two days before the start of the war because preparations for the aftermath of the conflict were not "anywhere near ready".

Major General Tim Cross, who was attached to the Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (Orha) set up by the US to manage post-war reconstruction, said plans were "woefully thin".

Previous witnesses have told the inquiry that Dfid, as a department, believed it was wrong for the UK to take part in the invasion without having first secured a second United Nations Security Council resolution supporting military action against Saddam Hussein's regime.