Iraq action 'crime of aggression' - BBC NEWS | UK | Politics |

BBC NEWS | UK | Politics | Iraq action 'crime of aggression':

"The Iraq war amounted to a 'crime of aggression', the former deputy legal adviser to the Foreign Office has said.
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Ms Wilmshurst resigned from her post on the eve of war because she did not believe military action in Iraq was legal.

In her resignation letter, Ms Wilmshurst says military action in Iraq was 'an unlawful use of force' which 'amounts to the crime of aggression.'

'Nor can I agree with such action in circumstances which are so detrimental to the international order and the rule of law,' she says.
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Another significant point that emerges from the released section is that Ms Wilmshurst specifically rejects the grounds on which Lord Goldsmith said that the war was legal.

He had argued that Iraq's failure to comply with UN demands had 'reactivated' the original 1991 Gulf War ceasefire resolution 678, thereby allowing a resumption of hostilities against Iraq.

She states quite clearly that she believes a second resolution is required following the final warning to Iraq issued by the Security Council in resolution 14412 in November 2002."