We CAN put Blair in dock over Iraq War say lawyers
TONY Blair could still be dragged before the courts for leading Britain into the disastrous Iraq War.
Barristers representing bereaved families of UK troops killed in the conflict believe there is evidence the former prime minister committed ‘misfeasance in public office’.
The legal team has been poring over the 2.6million-word, 12-volume Chilcot Report into the invasion for eight months.
They now conclude there is a strong case Mr Blair misled Parliament to justify the catastrophic 2003 war, which cost the lives of 179 UK soldiers.
This came after it emerged the Attorney General is seeking to block a separate attempt by an Iraqi general to privately prosecute Mr Blair over the conflict.
Relatives of British troops who died in Iraq believe Mr Blair should face the courts for taking part in the US-led invasion under the false pretext that Saddam Hussein’s regime had weapons of mass destruction.
Their lawyers are seeking to build a civil case against the former Labour leader and other Whitehall officials, funded with the help of Daily Mail readers, who raised £150,000.
For the best chance of success, barristers must assess the implications of recent ‘significant court judgments’ – including the Supreme Court’s ruling in January that Royal Prerogative power could not be used to force through Brexit.
In 2003, it was understood Mr Blair could have used the prerogative to go to war, but he instead put the decision to a vote in Parliament.
Reg Keys and Roger Bacon, who both lost sons in the invasion, said they were pleased with the lawyers’ conclusion.
Mr Bacon, whose son Matthew, a major in the Intelligence Corps, was killed in a roadside bomb in 2005, said: ‘The public have been truly wonderful in their support in our determination to get those responsible, in particular Tony Blair, into court to answer for their actions.
‘It is a hard road we are taking with no guarantees of success but for our peace of mind, for the great British public who have shown so much support and in memory of our loved ones, we must do everything we can to get the justice we believe the country needs.’
Matthew Jury, of law firm McCue and Partners, which is representing the families, said: ‘The evidence supports the case that certain state officials might have acted unlawfully.’
Sir John Chilcot’s damning report blasted Mr Blair’s rush into war on the back of flawed intelligence. But Mr Blair insists he acted in good faith and that the report shows there was no secret plan to invade Iraq.