Protesters hold a 'die in' in Parliament Square in 2005 in protest at the Iraq War: demonstrators are expected to return for Tony Blair's visit to the Iraq inquiry on Friday.

Sir Michael Wood, the former top legal adviser at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, has been given permission from the Attorney-General to break with protocol and disclose advice given to ministers in the build-up to the Iraq war.

The move by Baroness Scotland effectively allows Sir Michael to give unrestricted evidence to the Chilcot inquiry when he appears tomorrow morning. His comments will form part of what is expected to be an explosive week of testimonies from officials, the former Attorney-General Lord Goldsmith and Tony Blair.

Sir Michael is expected to reveal to the inquiry disagreements within the Government before the decision was taken to attack Iraq. He will be questioned over whether it was the case that lawyers believed the war would have been unlawful without a second UN resolution.

Lord Goldsmith is expected to receive intense questioning when he gives evidence on Wednesday. He is thought to have changed his mind about the legality of the war in the days leading up to the invasion in March 2003. He will be scrutinised over details of conversations he had with Mr Blair before announcing his judgment that a war against Iraq would be lawful.

Mr Blair faces questioning on Friday over his secret discussions with President Bush, his involvement in the preparation of dossiers on the threat from Iraq, his decision to commit British troops and whether he misled Parliament to take the country into war.

Among the audience for his hearing will be parents of some of 179 British personnel who died in Iraq. Rose Gentle, whose son Gordon died aged 19, said that the families would not attempt to disrupt Mr Blair’s evidence.

She said: “There will be a lot of tension, and a lot of families will feel quite unsettled. They will be listening and taking things in. They are not going down to cause any disruption, they actually want to hear what’s being said. We want the truth about why we did go into Iraq. I think Tony Blair has convinced himself, but now he has to convince the public and convince the families.”

Elizabeth Wilmshurst, Sir Michael’s former deputy, is due to give evidence tomorrow morning. She resigned in 2003, arguing that an invasion without sanction from the United Nations would represent a crime of aggression. She will be questioned on whether it was the case that Sir Michael had told Lord Goldsmith of his legal reservations about the invasion.

Gordon Brown will also have to give evidence, but not until the end of next month or early March. The findings from the inquiry will not be made public until after the general election, expected in May.

David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, said yesterday that the Government had learnt lessons from the invasion of Iraq. He said: “We will continue to learn lessons because the truth is it has been far harder to win the peace in Iraq than to win the war. As the Prime Minister said, the postwar planning needed to be far, far better. That is absolutely evident.”

Mr Miliband dismissed suggestions that one of the messages emerging from the Chilcot inquiry was that his department’s accurate predictions about the problems of occupying Iraq had been overlooked by the rest of the Government. He said: “It is tempting to say that the Foreign Office always gets it right, but it’s not true. It is a corporate decision. These decisions are very, very difficult.”

Appearing week Jan 25 to 29th.

Monday

Des Browne, Secretary of State for Defence (2006-08) 2pm. Noted in 2006 that Iraq was now “not as bad as under Saddam”

John Hutton, Secretary of State for Defence (2008-09) 3.30pm. Resignation in 2009 was derided by Field Marshal Lord Bramall, former Chief of the Defence Staff, as “nothing short of dereliction of duty under fire”

Tuesday

Sir Michael Wood, Legal Adviser, FCO (2001-06) 10am. Puzzled over the legality of going to war without UN resolution

David Brummell, Legal Secretary to the Law Officers (2001-04) 11.30am. Legal adviser who examined case for war

Elizabeth Wilmshurst, Deputy Legal Adviser, FCO (2001-03) 2pm. Believed war in Iraq was illegal

Margaret Beckett, Foreign Secretary (2006-07) 3.30pm. Once said: “We never hear about the things that have gone better in Iraq”

Wednesday

Lord Goldsmith, Attorney- General (2001-07) 10am.Wrote a letter to Geoff Hoon, then the Defence Secretary, stating that a war in Iraq would be illegal

Friday

Tony Blair 9.30am. Spectators for this appearance were picked by ballot

Source: Times Online.co.uk, January 25, 2010
By: Suzy Jagger, David Brown