IRAQ WAR WAS ILLEGAL

IRAQ WAR WAS ILLEGAL

SNP ATTEMPTS TO IMPEACH BLAIR VINDICATED

BLAIR AND BROWN’S SPIN MACHINE IS BUST

One of the Government's most senior legal advisers at the time of the Iraq War believed the war was illegal and repeatedly informed the Government that its invasion was not legitimate.

Sir Michael Wood was the Foreign Office's former chief legal adviser on the run up to the war.

In 2004, the SNP made efforts to impeach then Prime Minister Tony Blair on charges of gross misconduct in his advocacy of the case for war against Iraq and in his conduct of policy in connection with the war.

Commenting, SNP Westminster Leader and Foreign Affairs spokesman, Angus Robertson MP said:

“Today’s we’ve heard that Sir Michael – the Government’s top legal chief - repeatedly made clear that the Iraq invasion was illegal on many levels. This is damning evidence indeed and absolutely vindicates the SNP’s efforts to impeach Tony Blair.

“Tony Blair led this county to war on a march of lies and manipulation and Gordon Brown signed the cheques to make it happen.

“The fact that both Blair and Brown flagrantly and repeatedly ignored the advice of one of the Government’s most senior legal advisers indicates that they had sold their souls to Bush in 2002 and trumped up the evidence at a later date in an attempt to justify this illegal war.

“The public has not forgiven and it has not forgotten. A recent YouGov poll showed 23% of people think Blair should be tried as a war criminal and over half think he deliberately misled the country over the invasion. Today’s evidence just confirms what the public already believes: this war was illegal and Blair and Brown knew it.

“Labour’s spin machine is now bust. Tony Blair has to give some seriously straight answers to some seriously hard questions when he appears before the inquiry this week, not least why he ignored advice and lied to both parliament and country.

“But as Blair lied, Brown backed him all the way. As the man who bankrolled the illegal invasion, based on manipulated and distorted evidence, Gordon Brown must face real scrutiny before the inquiry so the public get the full facts behind an illegitimate war fought in their name.”