- Bill Clinton on Tony Blair: Everyone makes mistakes
He took Britain into the ill-fated conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But last night Tony Blair was honoured in America with a medal, £64,000 prize and a banquet - for his services to peace.
The former Prime Minister was given the prestigious Liberty Medal in Philadelphia for his role in 'bringing liberty to people around the world'.
He joins the likes of Nelson Mandela, Kofi Annan, Mikhail Gorbachev and former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, who have all been awarded the medal, which has been given out every year since 1989.
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair takes the stage during the 2010 Liberty Medal ceremony in at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, yesterday
Mr Blair was honoured for his work with the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, which promotes religious tolerance, and for his initiative to improve governance in Africa.
He cancelled a planned book signing in London last week after eggs and shoes were thrown at him at an earlier book signing in Dublin. Protesters were angered over his role in launching the Iraq War.
There were no protests at the Philadelphia ceremony, which featured a performance by The Irish Tenors and a video tribute from U2 lead singer Bono, a 2007 recipient.
Mr Blair was given a glowing tribute by former U.S. president Bill Clinton who called him a 'wonderful citizen of the world' and a personal friend.
'This is in recognition of his work as prime minister and after putting peace and prosperity at the the forefront of his life in the uk and far beyond it's borders, he said.
Mr Clinton also praised Blair's 'extraordinary political skill' and said should he bring peace to the Middle East it would 'do more to drain the swamp of terror... and undermine the siren song if terrorists' than anything else.
Mr Clinton also defended the former prime minister from his critics: 'The best you can ever hope for is to have had a positive record, because everybody makes mistakes'.
Mr Blair said: 'Freedom, liberty and justice are the values by which this medal is struck.
'Freedom, liberty and justice are the values which I try to apply to my work on governance in Africa and on preparing the Palestinians for statehood.'
Friends reunited: The two former heads of state were in good spirits as they discussed Blair's contribution to freedom in the world
Mr Blair is awarded the Liberty Medal by Bill Clinton last night
Mr Blair, who gave away the £64,000 prize money to two of his charities, said: 'When I receive this medal, I receive it with a great sense of privilege and a deep sense of honour but also in a spirit of optimism for the future.'
Mr Blair will donate the money to his faith foundation and African Governance Initiative. Six winners have subsequently received the Nobel Peace Prize.
Since leaving office Mr Blair has become an envoy to the Middle East. He has said that he sees bringing peace to Israel and Palestine as a way of making up for the errors of Iraq.
The ceremony kicks off nearly a week of events leading to Constitution Day on Friday. The U.S. Constitution was adopted in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787.
Meanwhile, the former PM has today laughed off suggestions that he plagiarised his account of his first audience with the Queen from a movie version of the event.
In his memoirs, entitled A Journey, Mr Blair recounts how the Queen said to him: 'You are my tenth prime minister. The first was Winston. That was before you were born.'
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The words are almost exactly the same as those used in the 2006 Oscar-winning film, The Queen.
Scriptwriter Peter Morgan insisted he had made up the words and suggested that Mr Blair had either chosen to endorse the film version, or had had 'one gin and tonic too many and confused the scene in the film with what had actually happened'.
However Mr Blair - who said that he never seen the film - dismissed the suggestion and rejected the idea that it was an 'odd coincidence'.
'I hope Peter Morgan is being tongue in cheek about this.
'I can't believe that they would have written the movie without talking to somebody,' he told BBC Radio 2's Simon Mayo Drivetime.
'I have told this story many times because I always think its quite a funny story.'
He added laughingly: 'Are you suggesting I plagarised it from the film?'
He went on: 'I don't think that it is terribly odd because, as I say, it is a story that I have often told so maybe someone heard it and said it to him, but it is what happened.'
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