Revealed: Tony Blair's battle with law chief after warning Iraq war would be illegal

By: Tim Shipman July 01 2010

Tony Blair’s fury at being told the Iraq War was illegal was laid bare yesterday after secret memos from his Attorney General were finally published.

In an unprecedented move, the Chilcot Inquiry into the conflict published Lord Goldsmith’s warnings to the then Prime
Minister, the first time a government has ever declassified legal advice to ministers.

They detail how time and again the Attorney General told Mr Blair he risked taking the UK into an unlawful war – and
the Prime Minister’s irritation and refusal to accept that fact.


Assurances: Jonathan Powell, pictured with then-Prime Minister Tony Blair, told a meeting at No.10 that the UK would not support a U.S.-led invasion of Iraq without U.N. support


goldsmith-letter.jpg
In one damning letter to Mr Blair dated January 30, 2003 – less than two months before the invasion – Lord Goldsmith told him that UN resolution 1441, on which the government came to rely, ‘does not authorise the use of military force’.
Mr Blair scrawled in the margin of the letter: ‘I just don’t understand this.’

The same document exposes the huge irritation in Downing Street at the Attorney General’s reluctance to give the green light for an invasion.

No 10 aide Matthew Rycroft made clear that Lord Goldsmith’s missive was unwelcome.

‘[We] specifically said we did not need further advice [on] this matter,’ he wrote.

The word ‘not’ was underlined. A series of documents, minutes and memos make clear that Lord Goldsmith came under huge pressure to change his views and was unceremoniously excluded from Cabinet discussions in the build-up to the conflict.

Lord Goldsmith warned Mr Blair as early as July 2002 that war would not be legal without the express approval of the United Nations Security Council.

In a memo to the Prime Minister, who had already asked the military to prepare war plans, he warned that Britain would not be able to justify war by claiming ‘self defence’ or a ‘humanitarian catastrophe’
in Iraq.

Even after resolution 1441 was passed in November 2002, declaring Saddam Hussein in breach of previous UN demands that he disarm, the Attorney General maintained that a second resolution explicitly authorising war was necessary.

In October that year, as the wording of 1441 was being prepared, the Attorney General gave a stark warning to Foreign Secretary Jack Straw that Mr Blair had gone too far in pledging support to President George W. Bush.

A record of their telephone call says: ‘The Attorney explained that he was concerned by reports he had received that the Prime Minister had indicated to President Bush that he would join them in acting without a second Security Council decision.’

He also told Mr Straw the government must not promise ‘the U.S. government that it can do things which the Attorney considers to be unlawful’.


Change of heart: Lord Goldsmith
changed his mind about proceeding
without UN support after a trip to the
U.S. just a month before hostilities
commenced

In a sign of the pressure he was coming under, ‘the Foreign Secretary suggested the Attorney might not wish to commit himself on paper until he had seen the Prime Minister’.

This resulted in an arm-twisting meeting that was then arranged by Mr Blair’s chief of staff Jonathan Powell.

The Attorney General also complained that he ‘ought to be present’ when the war was being discussed.

But in the final days before the conflict, he changed his tune and declared that a case could be made that Resolution 1441 reactivated the earlier resolutions authorising force during the first Gulf War.

His final legal advice, couched with caveats, was never shown in full to the Cabinet, who only saw the same brief summary declaring the war to be legal.

Source: Mail Online.co.uk

Views: 116

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Doc Vega posted blog posts
2 hours ago
cheeki kea favorited Bob of the Family Renner's photo
12 hours ago
cheeki kea commented on Doc Vega's blog post Plausible Explanation Behind Recent Cryptid Sightings in the Wild!
"If you're ever out there Doc V and notice giant two legged birds roaming the wilderness be…"
13 hours ago
Burbia commented on TommyD's group The Chuckle Hut
yesterday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Sunday
Doc Vega posted photos
Saturday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

Ashrams and Moonies Perfect Case for Mind Control

 In the late 60’s and into the 70’s we saw a strange phenomenon emerge! That was the rise of cults…See More
Friday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

Modern Progress

 From some things you just can’t come backNot everyone has your backIt might just be a nuclear…See More
Thursday
Bob of the Family Renner favorited tjdavis's photo
Thursday
Less Prone favorited Sandy's discussion Sick sci-fi sex fantasy written by Epstein's first benefactor people say inspired his twisted island... before author's SON ended up arresting him
Thursday
Doc Vega commented on tjdavis's photo
Thumbnail

Now Playing

"They sure as hell are! "
Aug 20
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Plausible Explanation Behind Recent Cryptid Sightings in the Wild!
"cheeki kea, yes they have already produced a Wooly Mammoth by crossing DNA from frozen remains in…"
Aug 20
Less Prone favorited tjdavis's photo
Aug 20
Less Prone favorited Bob of the Family Renner's photo
Aug 20
Less Prone favorited tjdavis's photo
Aug 20
Less Prone left a comment for Misteri
"Welcome back!"
Aug 20
tjdavis posted blog posts
Aug 19
tjdavis posted photos
Aug 19
tjdavis posted a video

The Inversion: The 'Sentient World Simulation' (SWS)

Kingsley L. Dennis discussing subjects from his new book - 'The Inversion: How We Have Been Tricked into Perceiving a False Reality' (published September 26,...
Aug 19
Doc Vega posted a blog post

Major Technical Developments in 1960 and a Major CIA Disclosure

 In 1960, there were some very significant changes in science, flight research, and oceanography…See More
Aug 18

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted