Nobel peace prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu has pulled out of a seminar in South Africa because of he refused to appear alongside former British prime minister Tony Blair.

The pair were scheduled to take part in the Discovery Invest Leadership Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa on Thursday, before Tutu’s announcement.

In a statement released by his office, it was announced that after  "wrestling with his conscience and taking counsel",

"Ultimately, the archbishop is of the view that Mr. Blair's decision to support the United States' military invasion of Iraq, on the basis of unproven allegations of the existence in Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, was morally indefensible."

"The Discovery Invest Leadership Summit has leadership as its theme. Morality and leadership are indivisible."

"In this context, it would be inappropriate and untenable for the archbishop to share a platform with Mr Blair."

Blair’s office responded by stating that they were “sorry” at the news of the pull out, adding,

"As far as Iraq is concerned, they have always disagreed about removing Saddam by force. Such disagreement is part of a healthy democracy,"

"As for the morality of that decision we have recently had both the memorial of the Halabja massacre where thousands of people were murdered in one day by Saddam's use of chemical weapons; and that of the Iran-Iraq war where casualties numbered up to a million including many killed by chemical weapons.

"So these decisions are never easy morally or politically."