Associated Press retracts Blair 'story'

The Associated Press (AP) has retracted a story in which it falsely claimed that British Prime Minister Tony Blair blamed the July 7 London terrorist attacks on the Israeli - Palestinian conflict.

In its original report, the AP reported Blair as saying that "you have to try and pull terrorism out by its roots..." and claimed that meant "easing the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians."

"The Associated Press erroneously reported that he spoke of easing the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Blair did not specifically mention the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in his interview with the British Broadcasting Corp," said the AP in a statement.