BRITAIN: Tony Blair could be forced to give evidence under oath after families of 17 British soldiers killed in Iraq began a legal effort yesterday to secure an independent inquiry into the lawfulness of the 2003 conflict.
A lawyer representing the families lodged papers at the High Court in London, seeking a judicial review of the government's decision this May not to order an investigation into the legality of the war in Iraq.
They hope the inquiry will be held within six months.
The first three defendants named on the papers are the prime minister, the defence secretary at the time, Geoff Hoon, and the attorney general, Lord Goldsmith.
The families have demanded that judges investigate to see whether the government misled the public over the war.
Standing outside the High Court, Reg Keys, father of Cpl Tom Keys (20), who was one of six royal military police troops killed in an incident at Majar al-Kabir, said he and the other families would not have needed to go to court if weapons of mass destruction had been found in Iraq. The war had no basis in law, he said.