Families of UK soldiers killed in Iraq demand inquiry into war’s legality News
Families of UK soldiers killed in Iraq demand inquiry into war’s legality

[JURIST] The UK-based group Military Families Against the War [advocacy website] delivered a letter of claim [DOC text] to Prime Minister Tony Blair [official website] Tuesday demanding a full independent public inquiry into the deaths of their relatives and the legality of UK participation in the war in Iraq. In a supporting press release, the Stop the War Coalition [advocacy website] outlined crimes allegedly committed by Blair, which include committing to the war without sufficient evidence of WMDs as well as withholding the Attorney General's reservations about going to war [JURIST report] from the British cabinet and Parliament. The families say that if the Government does not concede within 14 days that an inquiry must be established they will apply for judicial review. The call for an inquiry comes just two days before Britons go to the polls in a national election; the Blair government has been harshly criticized in recent days over actions leading up to the war, but the latest polls indicate the governing Labour party will be returned to power for a third term. Reuters has more.