Manic Street Preachers bassist Nicky Wire has described former British Prime Minister Tony Blair as a “shell of a man”.

Wire said Blair's decision to evade Iraq in 2003 had clearly left its mark on Labour politician.

“You just see something in Tony Blair's eyes and you just know he's forever broken,” the musician told Spinner.

“You can see it in his eyes. A shell of a man, really."

Wire added that he had yet to decided whether he would read Blair's recently released memoirs, A Journey.

“I dunno if I'm that interested really, I don't like hardbacks, really," he said.

Manic Street Preachers released their eleventh studio album 'Postcards From A Young Man' this week.

(by Jason Gregory)