Martin Bell, the former BBC war reporter and independent MP, has criticised the hypocrisy of media owners Conrad Black and Rupert Murdoch, whose news organisations led the calls for war in Iraq.

He said the tycoons had never taken the sorts of risks they had urged on British service personnel in calling for the war.

"The thing that worries me most about the coverage was its feverishness," Bell said during a debate at the Hay festival.

"The networks became rumour bazaars. There was spin and manipulation. Our political and military leaders also have an obligation not to deceive."