Turn A Blind Eye, Gov!

It is widely known in UK legal circles that the law lords told Blair that an invasion of Iraq would be illegal without a further UN resolution, which Blair and Bush could not get. Blair went ahead with the invasion anyway, hoping to twist the law in his favour with hindsight (as per the Bush-torture legalese). Now Blair's ministers are asking the UK courts NOT TO RULE on the legality of the war - just turn a blind eye, please!

The Guardian reports:

"Five peace activists charged with trying to delay US bombers taking off from RAF Fairford in the week before the war sought a ruling that they were entitled to plead in their defence that they acted to postpone the start of a war they believed to be illegal...

In [the government]'s judgment "it would be prejudicial to the national interest and the conduct of the government's foreign policy if the English courts were to express opinions on questions of international law concerning the use of force by the United Kingdom and other states which might differ from those expressed by the government and advanced by it in the conduct of international relations". "

In other words, please do not rule that the war was illegal, or even consider such an argument (although it is central to the case) because that would be too embarrassing to the war criminals in the UK government.