Iraq War takes centre stage

12.11.45am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 27th Apr 2005

The trail that led from the Bush White House to British troops in Iraq was laid out in frightening detail in a meeting in Hampstead Old Town Hall tonight (Tuesday 26th April)

Air Marshal Lord Tim Garden detailed how the situation facing troops currently in Iraq was much worse than it needed to be because of the lack of good planning before the invasion. He said that before tearing the country apart to remove Saddam Hussein there should have been as full plan on how to put it back together. He spoke of the extent to which the insurgents were one of four groups currently armed and in Iraq and how the need for British troops risked lasting for years unless there was a stronger understanding of the needs of the new Iraq.

Professor Philippe Sands dissected the run up to war and laid out how he felt that the basis for the war was illegal and how he felt that Blair and his Cabinet had almost over-ridden legal advice. In particular he said the call for the publication of the advice of the 7th and 17th March provided by the Attorney General was growing and publication seemed increasingly inevitable.

Philippe Sands also spoke of the likelihood of extradition attempts on Tony Blair when he stands down from being Prime Minister in the way that Pinochet faced such attempts whenever he travelled abroad.

The whole evening was chaired by Professor Jeffrey Jowell (UCL) and sponsored by The Liberal magazine http://www.theliberal.co.uk/