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I DIDN'T BLOCK IRAQ DEBATE: STRAW

ABOVE: Jack Straw has denied ignoring legal advice on the legality of the Iraq war

8th February 2010

Former foreign secretary Jack Straw has denied blocking detailed cabinet discussion on the attorney general's advice on the legality of military action against Iraq.

Making his second appearance before the Iraq Inquiry, he insisted he had no recollection of the then-international development secretary Clare Short's claim that she was "jeered" when she tried to question Lord Goldsmith's opinion.

Mr Straw, who is now the Justice Secretary, said that it was "simply untrue" to claim the system of cabinet government had broken down under Tony Blair's leadership.

He also strongly defended his decision to overrule the advice of the senior Foreign Office legal adviser, Sir Michael, that the use of force would be illegal without a specific mandate from the United Nations.

The inquiry has previously released declassified documents showing how Mr Straw warned Lord Goldsmith not to disclose that the legal arguments were "finely balanced" when he presented his advice to the cabinet on March 17 2003 on the eve of the crucial Commons vote on war.

While Mr Straw acknowledged that he had been concerned about the possibility of leaks if ministers were told, he insisted they had been fully aware of the issues involved. He said that there had been an intense public debate whether UN Security Council resolution 1441, passed the previous November, provided sufficient authorisation for the use of force without the need for a second resolution.

"The cabinet were fully aware that the arguments were evenly balanced. It was impossible to open a newspaper without being fully aware of the balance of the arguments," he said. "No-one was unaware of the fact that there had been and was continuing an intense legal debate about the interpretation of 1441."

He said that the cabinet included a number of "strong-minded people" - among them Gordon Brown, John Prescott, David Blunkett and Charles Clarke - who were all capable of raising any concerns they had.

"These weren't wilting violets, their judgment was that it was not necessary to go into the process by which Peter Goldsmith came to his view," he said.

"There is nothing unusual at all about legal decisions being finely balanced. What the cabinet wanted to know and needed to know was what was the decision. Nobody was preventing anybody from asking the attorney - including Clare Short - what the position was. In the event, they chose not to."