Blair under fire over ‘illegal’ war on Iraq
Tory leader Michael Howard directly accused him of “telling lies” over the case for war while Liberal Democrats leader Charles Kennedy warned that the general election was becoming a referendum on the issue of “trust”.
Mr Blair sought to steer the campaign agenda onto aid for the world’s poorest countries with a high-profile rally to mark World Poverty Day - including a video link-up with former US President Bill Clinton.
However, the Liberal Democrats - the only one of the three main parties to oppose the war - signalled their determination to make Iraq a key issue in the closing stages of the election.
The latest controversy was ignited by a report in the Mail on Sunday which said it had seen a 13-page opinion by Attorney General Lord Goldsmith in which he expressed doubts about the legality of military action under international law.
According to the newspaper, he warned there was a strong argument that it was up to the United Nations, not Mr Blair, to rule on whether Saddam Hussein was in breach of his obligations to give up his weapons of mass destruction. Lord Goldsmith was said to have questioned whether Britain could use UN Security Council resolution 1441 - which gave Saddam a “final opportunity” to disarm - as a basis for military action.
In a statement last night, the Attorney General’s office again stated that he had advised that the war was lawful.
But Mr Howard accused the prime minister of having “lied” and he urged voters to make the election a judgment on his character.
