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FORMER TOP BRITISH FOREIGN OFFICE LEGAL ADVISOR: IRAQ WAS ILLEGAL
Guardian, UK - Tony Blair's decision to take Britain to war in Iraq was illegal, the Foreign Office's former chief legal adviser will tell the Chilcot inquiry this week.
The Observer has been told that Sir Michael Wood, who was the FO's most senior lawyer, is ready to reveal that, in the run-up to war, he was of the opinion that the conflict would have been unlawful without a second UN resolution. This will provide an explosive backdrop to the former prime minister's appearance before the inquiry on Friday.
The evidence from Wood, who will appear before the committee on Tuesday, will provide the firmest proof to date of the bitter wranglings that divided the government in the countdown to war.
His testimony will come the day before the appearance of Lord Goldsmith, the former attorney general, who is said to have dropped his legal objections days before the invasion, following intense pressure from Blair and his closest advisers, and the US authorities. . .
The revelation is certain to inflame the already febrile atmosphere among the relatives of those killed in Iraq. More than 40 will sit in on the inquiry during Blair's appearance on Friday. . .
Blair will take his place amid intense security, with mass protests expected in Westminster. Sources close to Scotland Yard said Blair's appearance had been a major factor behind the government's decision to raise the terror threat level from "substantial" to "severe".
Intelligence operatives had picked up "domestic chatter" that had given them reason to believe his appearance before the inquiry required a higher state of alert. "We are gearing up for Blair," said the source."
His appearance will be crucial in determining the process by which the country went to war. He will face intense questioning on the way patchy intelligence evidence of Saddam Hussein's weapons program in 2002 was translated into firm assertions that the threat was "growing" and "beyond doubt". . .
The Observer has been told that Sir Michael Wood, who was the FO's most senior lawyer, is ready to reveal that, in the run-up to war, he was of the opinion that the conflict would have been unlawful without a second UN resolution. This will provide an explosive backdrop to the former prime minister's appearance before the inquiry on Friday.
The evidence from Wood, who will appear before the committee on Tuesday, will provide the firmest proof to date of the bitter wranglings that divided the government in the countdown to war.
His testimony will come the day before the appearance of Lord Goldsmith, the former attorney general, who is said to have dropped his legal objections days before the invasion, following intense pressure from Blair and his closest advisers, and the US authorities. . .
The revelation is certain to inflame the already febrile atmosphere among the relatives of those killed in Iraq. More than 40 will sit in on the inquiry during Blair's appearance on Friday. . .
Blair will take his place amid intense security, with mass protests expected in Westminster. Sources close to Scotland Yard said Blair's appearance had been a major factor behind the government's decision to raise the terror threat level from "substantial" to "severe".
Intelligence operatives had picked up "domestic chatter" that had given them reason to believe his appearance before the inquiry required a higher state of alert. "We are gearing up for Blair," said the source."
His appearance will be crucial in determining the process by which the country went to war. He will face intense questioning on the way patchy intelligence evidence of Saddam Hussein's weapons program in 2002 was translated into firm assertions that the threat was "growing" and "beyond doubt". . .
1 Comments:
Well, let's see. That's the United Nations and a senior British government official. When does the US acknowledge this and prosecute Bush and CHeney? Oh, I forgot. NEVER!
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