Iraq war wrong, Blair war criminal

More than one fifth of Britons believe former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who joined the US to invade Iraq, should be put to trial for war crimes, a poll has found.

Based on the study by YouGov pollsters on the 10th anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq, half of Brits think Blair knowingly misled British MPs, with claims that Iraq had ready-to-launch weapons of mass destruction, with 22 percent of them saying the ex-PM deserves a war crimes tribunal because of his deceit.

Meanwhile , a majority 53 percent say going to the war was a wrong decision with 56 percent stating the war increased the chances of a terrorist attack on Britain rather than decreasing such a risk, as was originally pledged.

The respondents to the poll were also cynical about achievements in Iraq, with 71 percent of them saying the Middle Eastern country is likely to face permanent instability in the coming years.

The Iraq war turned into a headache for the British government only months after the invasion, with talks of Blair misleading the MPs to go to war, raising questions about its very legality.

Lord Goldsmith, Tony Blair’s top legal advisor and attorney general at the time of the 2003 invasion, told the Iraq War Inquiry (Chilcot Inquiry) in January 2011 that Blair hoodwinked the MPs by claiming that Britain could legally attack Iraq even without a United Nation’s approval.

Goldsmith also told the inquiry that the former Labor PM told the MPs in a statement on 15 January 2003 that there were “circumstances” in which an attack could be legal without UN approval.