Did Blair Mislead Us? No ; No Says Geoffrey Bindman, the Prominent Human Rights Lawyer

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Everyone agrees military action was only lawful if authorised by the Security Council. In November 1990, in resolution 678, it authorised action to liberate Kuwait. By April 1991, that job had been done and resolution 687 affirmed the ceasefire but Lord Goldsmith believes the authority for war did not come to an end there, but lay dormant pending the elimination by Iraq of its WMD and compliance with monitoring and reporting requirements.

By November 2002, resolution 1441 was designed to give the Iraqis a last chance to comply but did not itself authorise force. As Lord Goldsmith says 'the argument that 1441 itself provides the authorisation depends on the revival of the …