Prime Minister Tony Blair faced further controversy about the legality of the Iraq war, after a fresh report indicated the government's top legal adviser changed his mind on the issue shortly before the invasion.
Several British TV stations and newspapers have reported that Attorney General Lord Goldsmith wavered in the advice he gave to the government in the weeks leading to the war, first believing the invasion could be deemed illegal without a further UN resolution and then deciding it could be justified under existing UN resolutions.
The government has repeatedly refused to publish his full advice and has denied politically pressuring the attorney general.
A resignation letter written by the Foreign Office's deputy legal adviser, released on Wednesday under the Freedom of Information Act, appeared to add weight to reports that Goldsmith's opinion had shifted.
Elizabeth Wilmshurst, who quit her post because she was opposed to the looming war, wrote on March 18, 2003 that "an unlawful use of force on such a scale amounts to the crime of aggression."
Two sentences in the letter were blacked out by the government. But Channel 4 News said on Wednesday it had obtained the missing material and said Wilmshurst had described how Goldsmith's opinion had changed.
"My views accord with the advice that has been given consistently in this office, before and after the adoption of UN Security Council resolution 1441, and with what the attorney general gave us to understand was his view prior to his letter of 7th of March," Channel 4 quoted the letter as saying. "The view expressed in that letter has of course changed again into what is now the official line."
According to several reports including by the BBC and leading British newspapers, Goldsmith warned the government on March 7 that an invasion of Iraq could be deemed illegal, but in a parliamentary written statement by Goldsmith 10 days later, allegedly drafted with the help of Blair's office, said a war in Iraq would be legal.
Political opponents on Wednesday rounded on the government for censoring Wilmshurst's letter and accused ministers of a cover up.
"The government blacked-out that section not in the public interest, but in the government interest," said Menzies Campbell, foreign affairs spokesman for the opposition Liberal Democrats, who opposed the war.
Former Cabinet minister Clare Short, a bitter critic of the war, said the letter was devastating.
"The bit that was blacked-out shows that the attorney general changed his mind twice in a matter of days before he gave advice to the Cabinet when he just said unequivocally, `My view is that there is legal authority for war,' and kept from the Cabinet any suggestion that he had had doubts about it," she said.
A spokesman for the attorney general said Goldsmith had repeatedly made clear that his advice to Parliament was "his own genuinely held independent view, that military action in Iraq was lawful."
The pledge by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to “work, work, work, work and work” for her country has been named the catchphrase of the year, recognizing the effort Japan’s first female leader had to make to reach the top. Takaichi uttered the phrase in October when she was elected as head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Many were initially as worried about her work ethic as supportive of her enthusiasm. In a country notorious for long working hours, especially for working women who are also burdened with homemaking and caregiving, overwork is a sensitive topic. The recognition triggered a
Tropical Storm Koto killed three people and left another missing as it approached Vietnam, authorities said yesterday, as strong winds and high seas buffeted vessels off the country’s flood-hit central coast. Heavy rains have lashed Vietnam’s middle belt in recent weeks, flooding historic sites and popular holiday destinations, and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. Authorities ordered boats to shore and diverted dozens of flights as Koto whipped up huge waves and dangerous winds, state media reported. Two vessels sank in the rough seas, a fishing boat in Khanh Hoa province and a smaller raft in Lam Dong, according to the
‘HEART IS ACHING’: Lee appeared to baffle many when he said he had never heard of six South Koreans being held in North Korea, drawing criticism from the families South Korean President Lee Jae-myung yesterday said he was weighing a possible apology to North Korea over suspicions that his ousted conservative predecessor intentionally sought to raise military tensions between the war-divided rivals in the buildup to his brief martial law declaration in December last year. Speaking to reporters on the first anniversary of imprisoned former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol’s ill-fated power grab, Lee — a liberal who won a snap presidential election following Yoon’s removal from office in April — stressed his desire to repair ties with Pyongyang. A special prosecutor last month indicted Yoon and two of his top
The Philippines deferred the awarding of a project that is part of a plan to build one of the world’s longest marine bridges after local opposition over the potential involvement of a Chinese company due to national security fears. The proposals are “undergoing thorough review” by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which acts as a lender and an overseer of the project to ensure it meets international environmental and governance standards, the Philippine Department of Public Works and Highways said in a statement on Monday in response to queries from Bloomberg. The agency said it would announce the winning bidder once ADB
RSS