A fascinating haul of classified documents released yesterday shed new light on the legal shenanigans in the run-up to the Iraq war.
Among them, we see the former attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, setting down on 30 January 2003 that he believed war without a second UN resolution would be illegal. The next day, Blair met Bush and offered to support the US-led plan.
Blair scribbled on the margin of the attorney general’s letter that he didn’t “understand this”. Gary Gibbon has deciphered the marginalia – well worth a read.
The inquiry has also invited international lawyers to give their verdict on the legal basis for going to war.