Iraq Inquiry: Goldsmith tells of war green light concerns

Published on Wednesday 27 January 2010 14:52

FORMER Attorney General Lord Goldsmith has today given details of his concerns about the legality of going to war right up until a month before hostilities started in March 2003.

• Former Attorney General Lord Goldsmith

Appearing at the inquiry chaired by Sir John Chilcot, Lord Goldsmith told of how he warned former Prime Minister Tony Blair and the then Foreign Secretary Jack Straw that they should not assume that it would be "all right on the night".

The former lord attorney said it was only after he was given details of the UN Security Council discussions around Resolution 1441 that he was able to give the opinion that the use of force was lawful without a second resolution.

In a draft opinion given to Mr Blair on January 14, 2003, Lord Goldsmith said he believed a further resolution was necessary, specifically authorising the use of force.

Mr Straw expressed concern that he should understand the "negotiating history" which had led to 1441 being passed, following intense negotiations in the UN with the French and Russians.

Lord Goldsmith said it was arranged that he should meet Sir Jeremy Greenstock, the British ambassador to the UN, and the US lawyers who were involved in the discussions.

On February 27, he returned to No 10 where he met Mr Blair's chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, and other senior advisers.

"I told them that, in the light of the further inquiries I had made following my visit to the United States, following my discussions with Jeremy Greenstock, following my investigations of the negotiating history, I was of the view that a reasonable case could be made that a second resolution was not necessary and that was, on past precedent, sufficient to constitute a green light," he said.

"What Sir Jeremy was saying – this was the key issue – was they knew that what had happened was that the resolution which they had agreed meant that a second decision was not necessary."

"Therefore that the US and other countries, such as ourselves, could take military action without a decision."