Legal adviser to UK government says Britain’s invasion of Iraq was illegal
By APTuesday, January 26, 2010
UK government adviser: Iraq war was illegal
LONDON — A former legal adviser to the British government has told the country’s Iraq Inquiry that Britain’s invasion of Iraq was illegal.
Michael Wood — who was the chief legal adviser to the Foreign Office at the time of the 2003 invasion — told the inquiry Tuesday that he believed the use of force against Iraq in March 2003 was “contrary to international law” as it had not been authorized by the UN Security Council.
His former deputy Elizabeth Wilmshurst resigned in protest at Britain’s decision to send troops to Iraq. She will give evidence to the inquiry Tuesday afternoon.
Britain is holding its third and widest-ranging inquiry into the conflict, which triggered huge protests and left 179 British dead before the country’s troops withdrew from Iraq last year.
