Tony Blair was warned before the Iraq war by the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, that a UN court could rule Britain's invasion unlawful, The Independent on Sunday has learnt.

The warning was in Lord Goldsmith's so far undisclosed legal opinion from 7 March last year, less than two weeks before the conflict began. Fearing that the International Court of Justice could rule it was illegal to go to war without the express authority of the UN Security Council, the Attorney General put senior barristers and international legal experts on standby to help to prepare the Government's defence if needed, legal sources said.

The Butler report's revelations about the discrediting of WMD intelligence have been seized upon by international legal experts, led by Professor Philippe Sands of University College, London. The report also showed for the first time that Mr Blair had ignored the fact that UN inspectors could find no evidence of an active weapons programme in Iraq - despite legal advice that "incontrovertible" evidence was needed before an invasion.



http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=542151