‘Blair’s role in Iraq invasion undermines democracy’

Speaking before the 10th anniversary of the publication of the September Dossier, Lord Falconer said: “I think it [the run-up to war] has had a hugely damaging effect on politics.”

On September 24, 2002, the British government published ‘Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Assessment of the British Government’, also known as the September Dossier, which alleged that former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction.

In the foreword to the document , Blair wrote: “The document discloses that his military planning allows for some of the WMD to be ready within 45 minutes of an order to use them”.

However, almost two years after the US-led invasion on Iraq, the CIA’s top weapons inspector in Iraq said they found no such weapons in the country.

“I supported and continue to support the use of force. But in terms of people's trust in politicians the impression is that the government misled the country in relation to the reasons for war and embarked upon war in circumstances where there wasn't a proper justification”, said Falconer.

Meanwhile, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Desmond Tutu has called for Blair and former US President George W. Bush to be tried at the International Criminal Court for war crimes they committed in the invasion of Iraq.

Furthermore, last week, Antiwar.com reported that up to 1,000 British soldiers face an investigation into war crimes committed during the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the subsequent occupation of the country.