Blair Not to be Prosecuted
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Following the publication of the Chilcot report last year in which it was asserted that “the UK chose to join the invasion [of Iraq] before peaceful options had been exhausted”, a private prosecution case was launched against former prime minister Tony Blair. On Monday the High Court blocked the move to prosecute Blair on grounds of him committing the “crime of aggression” by invading Iraq in 2003.
The case was launched by former Iraqi general Abdul Wahed Shannan Al Rabbat against Blair, former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, and former Attorney General Lord Goldsmith. The court ruled that Al Rabbat’s case had “no prospect” of success and that the ‘crime of aggression’ does not exist in this country.
In response to the ruling, a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s office said the case has brought up “important issues about the scope of the criminal law”.
While the case for Blair’s prosecution seems to have been killed by the courts, people still campaign for Blair to be tried for war crimes and the argument that he violated United Nations rules, as brought up by Michael Mansfield QC, certainly has some weight.
There are still questions from the Chilcot report that need answering and so we await those answers with eager anticipation. Who knows when (or how) we’ll eventually get them.