Former AG’s opinion on invasion changed by officials

FORMER attorney general Peter Goldsmith, who approved the 2003 invasion of Iraq, had doubted the legal basis for the conflict but changed his mind after talks with officials in London and Washington.

Giving evidence yesterday to the public inquiry into the conflict, Goldsmith defended the advice he gave Tony Blair’s government — despite the opinion of two former colleagues that the war was illegal.

He said he had initially questioned the basis for military action, saying the UN position was “not crystal clear”, and in January 2003 — two months before the invasion — had alerted the government to his doubts.