The “overwhelming” body of legal advice received by the Government in the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was that it would be unlawful without a proper mandate by the United Nations, nine law lords were told yesterday.
Lawyers at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office had made it clear that a second resolution by the UN was required to authorise the invasion, and both the Chief of the Defence Staff and the Treasury Solicitor had raised concerns about the legality of the war, Rabinder Singh, QC, said.
Mr Singh was appearing on behalf of two mothers whose sons died in Iraq. Rose Gentle, mother of Fusilier Gordon Gentle, 19, and Beverley Clarke, mother of Trooper David Clarke, also 19, took their case to the House of Lords after the Court of Appeal rejected their request for a public inquiry into Britain’s part in the war.
