Foreign Office official's evidence the day before attorney general Lord Goldsmith appears will increase pressure on Tony BlairMark Townsend, Toby Helm and Rajeev Syal - The Observer, Sunday 24 January 2010
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jan/24/iraq-chilcot-inquiry-michael-woodTony Blair's decision to take Britain to war in Iraq was illegal, the Foreign Office's former chief legal adviser will tell the Chilcot inquiry this week.
The Observer has been told that Sir Michael Wood, who was the FO's most senior lawyer, is ready to reveal that, in the run-up to war, he was of the opinion that the conflict would have been unlawful without a second UN resolution. This will provide an explosive backdrop to the former prime minister's appearance before the inquiry on Friday.
The evidence from Wood, who will appear before the committee on Tuesday, will provide the firmest proof to date of the bitter wranglings that divided the government in the countdown to war.
His testimony will come the day before the appearance of Lord Goldsmith, the former attorney general, who is said to have dropped his legal objections days before the invasion, following intense pressure from Blair and his closest advisers, and the US authorities.
A senior legal figure close to the discussions at the time told the Observer: "The advice that was given consistently in the Foreign Office
was that war would be unlawful without a second resolution. The important thing is that Foreign Office advice was given consistently in one way, and then the attorney general, right at the end, gave advice to the contrary. That is what will come out."
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