Revealed: the government's secret legal advice on Iraq war - Guardian Unlimited | Special reports |

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Revealed: the government's secret legal advice on Iraq war:

Thursday April 28, 2005
The Guardian

Tony Blair was told by the government's most senior law officer in a confidential minute less than two weeks before the war that British participation in the American-led invasion of Iraq could be declared illegal.

In a legal opinion Mr Blair has repeatedly refused to publish and never seen by the cabinet, Lord Goldsmith, the attorney general, spelled out the dangers of going to war, including the prospect of Britain losing a case in an international court.

He warned that while he could argue a 'reasonable case' in favour of military action, he was not confident a court would agree. Indeed, a court 'might well conclude' that a new UN resolution was needed before military action could be undertaken."