5 |
Advice on the legal basis for military action, November 2002 to
March 2003
we then had
to have a definitive decision, and that decision is: yes, it is
lawful to do
714.
Asked if it
had been of considerable relief to him when Lord Goldsmith came to
the
better view
that resolution 1441 authorised the use of force without a further
resolution,
Mr Blair
replied:
“Yes, and
the reason why he had done that was really very obvious, which
was
that the
Blix reports indicated quite clearly that Saddam had not taken the
final
715.
Lord
Goldsmith had several meetings on the afternoon of 13
March.
716.
The primary
purpose of the meetings appears to have been
discussion
of the
arrangements for preparing statements on the legal basis for action
for
Cabinet and
Parliament.
717.
A team was
established to help Lord Goldsmith to explain in public the
legal
basis “as
strongly and unambiguously as possible”.
718.
By the
afternoon of 13 March, the UK and the US were discussing
announcing
the
withdrawal of the draft resolution in the Security Council on 17
March and a planned
debate in
the House of Commons on 18 March.
719.
Mr Brummell
recorded that Lord Goldsmith had agreed on 13 March to
explore
whether
Professor Greenwood:
“… could be
instructed now, for the purpose of assisting in the development of
the
legal
arguments in support of the view that there was a sound legal basis
for the use
of force
without a second resolution. This would be useful both in terms of
preparing
the public
statement of the legal position and in terms of being ready to meet
any
legal
challenge at short notice.”293
720.
A postscript
to Mr Brummell’s note indicated that Lord Goldsmith had
spoken
to
Professor Greenwood “later that morning”, who confirmed that he
shared Lord
Goldsmith’s
analysis of the legal position and that “he also considered that
the better
view was
that a second resolution was not legally necessary”.
721.
Ms Adams wrote
to Professor Greenwood “following” his “conversation with
the
Attorney
General this morning”, requesting his “assistance in drawing up a
paper setting
out the
legal arguments which may be made in support of the view that
military action
291
Public
hearing, 29 January 2010, page 156.
292
Public
hearing, 29 January 2010, page 158.
293
Minute
Brummell, 13 March 2003, ‘Iraq: Legal Basis for Use of Force – Note
of Discussion with Attorney
General
Thursday, 13 March 2003’.
129