Desmond Tutu withdraws from conference to protest Tony Blair

South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu is withdrawing from a conference in Johannesburg to protest the attendance of Tony Blair.

The Discovery Invest Leadership Summit is scheduled for Thursday.

Tutu, a Nobel laureate, will not attend because he does not want to share a platform with Blair, said Roger Friedman, a spokesman for the archbishop. He declined to comment further on the issue.

The former British prime minister said Tutu decided not to attend because he disagrees with his support of the 2003 Iraq war.