Tony Blair said Egypt was facing “a complete collapse” had the army not taken action

Just days earlier, Blair said bringing about stability in the Middle East “is not somebody else’s job, it’s ours.”

Writing in The Observer, he defended the Egyptian army’s decision to remove Egypt’s first elected leader, saying “it is essential the people of the region know the west is on their side.

It is not somebody else’s job, it’s ours

Tony Blair

Mr Blair said Egypt was facing “a complete collapse” had the army not taken action to remove President Morsi.

“The army was faced with a situation where if they didn’t intervene the country was going to slide into total chaos,” he said.

Blair said while he supported democracy, “efficacy is the challenge” and the Morsi administration had failed to deliver in its first year.

Now, he said, it is down to the West to help the precarious new Government as the crisis continues.

“It is difficult, time-consuming and expensive,” he said. “We feel it should be someone else’s job to help sort it out. But it is our job. This struggle matters to us,” he insisted.

His comments come as both anti- and pro-Morsi demonstrations take place, with at least 51 people being killed in the escalating unrest.