UK bar group investigating Iraq war advice News
UK bar group investigating Iraq war advice

[JURIST] At the instance of UK Members of Parliament, the Bar Council [professional website], the governing body for English barristers, is launching an independent inquiry into the legal advice that England's Attorney General provided to Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2003 on the legality of going to war with Iraq. The inquiry follows revelations late this week by Britain's top civil servant, Sir Andrew Turnbull, that all Lord Goldsmith [official profile] gave Blair with a one-page "summary" which did not include any supporting documentation and offered no full opinion. The Blair government has been under considerable political pressure to disclose the totality of the advice Goldsmith provided to the government prior to its controversial entry into the conflict, quite unpopular with the British electorate. Senior lawyers believe it is virtually impossible for such an important legal issue to be fully discussed in a one page document. The Independent has more.