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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Iraq legal decision 'lamentable' | Iraq legal decision 'lamentable' |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| A Foreign Office lawyer who resigned in protest at the Iraq war said the way ministers weighed up the legal case for the invasion was "lamentable". | A Foreign Office lawyer who resigned in protest at the Iraq war said the way ministers weighed up the legal case for the invasion was "lamentable". |
| Elizabeth Wilmshurst told the Iraq inquiry she thought the war was unlawful without express UN backing. | Elizabeth Wilmshurst told the Iraq inquiry she thought the war was unlawful without express UN backing. |
| And she said it was "extraordinary" that Attorney General Lord Goldsmith had only been asked for his opinion days before British troops went in. | And she said it was "extraordinary" that Attorney General Lord Goldsmith had only been asked for his opinion days before British troops went in. |
| Ministers argue that existing UN resolutions justified the use of force. | Ministers argue that existing UN resolutions justified the use of force. |
| The testimony of Ms Wilmshurst and her then boss Sir Michael Wood made it clear that the legal team at the Foreign Office believed that the war was illegal under international law. | The testimony of Ms Wilmshurst and her then boss Sir Michael Wood made it clear that the legal team at the Foreign Office believed that the war was illegal under international law. |
| Legal debate | Legal debate |
| But in his final legal opinion on the eve of war, Lord Goldsmith advised ministers the "combined effect" of existing UN resolutions on Iraq dating back to 1991 meant the invasion was lawful. | But in his final legal opinion on the eve of war, Lord Goldsmith advised ministers the "combined effect" of existing UN resolutions on Iraq dating back to 1991 meant the invasion was lawful. |
| However, critics of the war say the attorney general reached his decision just days after offering a much more finely balanced view of the legal issues involved in an initial assessment. | However, critics of the war say the attorney general reached his decision just days after offering a much more finely balanced view of the legal issues involved in an initial assessment. |
| Ms Wilmshurst told the inquiry she had seen a copy of the attorney general's draft advice in which she said he argued that a second UN resolution explicitly authorising military action was advisable. | Ms Wilmshurst told the inquiry she had seen a copy of the attorney general's draft advice in which she said he argued that a second UN resolution explicitly authorising military action was advisable. |
| We were talking about the massive invasion of another country, the changing of a government and the occupation of that country Elizabeth Wilmshurst Straw rejected Iraq legal advice class="" href="/2/hi/uk_news/8480410.stm">Profile: Elizabeth Wilmshurst | |
| Lord Goldsmith will appear before the inquiry on Wednesday. | Lord Goldsmith will appear before the inquiry on Wednesday. |
| Ms Wilmshurst, deputy legal adviser at the Foreign Office in the run-up to war, was the only civil servant to resign over the invasion. | Ms Wilmshurst, deputy legal adviser at the Foreign Office in the run-up to war, was the only civil servant to resign over the invasion. |
| She told the inquiry that the momentous nature of the action taken against Iraq meant that she believed explicit UN authorisation was needed - an opinion she said was shared by her colleagues. | She told the inquiry that the momentous nature of the action taken against Iraq meant that she believed explicit UN authorisation was needed - an opinion she said was shared by her colleagues. |
| "We were talking about the massive invasion of another country, the changing of a government and the occupation of that country. In those circumstances, it did seem to me we ought to follow the safest route," she told the inquiry. | "We were talking about the massive invasion of another country, the changing of a government and the occupation of that country. In those circumstances, it did seem to me we ought to follow the safest route," she told the inquiry. |
| 'Greater transparency' | 'Greater transparency' |
| She criticised the manner in which the government considered the legal arguments for the invasion, saying it was "extraordinary" the attorney general was only asked for his opinion days before the conflict. | She criticised the manner in which the government considered the legal arguments for the invasion, saying it was "extraordinary" the attorney general was only asked for his opinion days before the conflict. |
| By this stage, she said it would have been "very, very difficult" for him to take any other view than he did without giving "a public relations" boost to Saddam Hussein. | By this stage, she said it would have been "very, very difficult" for him to take any other view than he did without giving "a public relations" boost to Saddam Hussein. |
| "The process was lamentable. There should have been greater transparency within government about the evolving legal advice so that it was not left entirely to the Attorney General alone right at the end to say." she added. | "The process was lamentable. There should have been greater transparency within government about the evolving legal advice so that it was not left entirely to the Attorney General alone right at the end to say." she added. |
| Earlier on Tuesday, the inquiry heard that Jack Straw rejected advice from Ms Wilmshurst's boss, Sir Michael Wood, that military action without express UN backing would amount "to a crime of aggression". | Earlier on Tuesday, the inquiry heard that Jack Straw rejected advice from Ms Wilmshurst's boss, Sir Michael Wood, that military action without express UN backing would amount "to a crime of aggression". |
| Mr Straw told him that international law was "an uncertain field" and opinions were divided over the issue. | Mr Straw told him that international law was "an uncertain field" and opinions were divided over the issue. |
| Asked about the foreign secretary's position, she said Mr Straw was "not an international lawyer". | Asked about the foreign secretary's position, she said Mr Straw was "not an international lawyer". |
| Conservative MP Malcolm Rifkind said Mr Straw should not have been "second-guessing" legal experts on such an important issue. | Conservative MP Malcolm Rifkind said Mr Straw should not have been "second-guessing" legal experts on such an important issue. |
| He said Mr Straw and other ministers showed a complete "disregard" for opposing legal arguments. | He said Mr Straw and other ministers showed a complete "disregard" for opposing legal arguments. |
| "I am deeply disturbed by the implications of what we have heard," he told the BBC. | "I am deeply disturbed by the implications of what we have heard," he told the BBC. |