Peter Hain has been a life-long anti-apartheid campaigner.Nelson Mandela felt so betrayed by Tony Blair's decision to join the invasion of Iraq that he made a furious phone call to a UK minister to protest.
Labour MP Peter Hain, whose biography of the ex-South African president is published on Monday, said Mr Mandela was "breathing fire" down the line.
The former Welsh Secretary said Mr Mandela felt Mr Blair's good work was "blown out of the water" by the war.Mr Hain said the criticisms were made formally, not in a private capacity.
He said: "He rang me up when I was a cabinet minister in 2003, after the invasion.
"He said: 'A big mistake, Peter, a very big mistake. It is wrong. Why is Tony doing this after all his support for Africa? This will cause huge damage internationally'.
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