Iraq inquiry appeal goes to Lords
Updated on 11 February 2008
An attempt to force the Government to order a public inquiry into Britain's involvement in the Iraq conflict is to go to the House of Lords.
The move comes after the Court of Appeal dismissed a claim by the mothers of two dead soldiers that the Government was under an implied obligation to hold an independent inquiry under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the "right to life".
Master of the Rolls Sir Anthony Clarke, President of the High Court Queen's Bench Division Sir Igor Judge and Lord Justice Dyson said that, while they had "every sympathy" for Beverley Clarke and Rose Gentle, the UK was not obliged to set up an independent inquiry into the lawfulness of the invasion.
They said: "Such an inquiry would inevitably involve, not only questions of international law, but also questions of policy, which are essentially matters for the executive and not the courts."
The trio also said that the deaths of Trooper David Jeffrey Clarke and Fusilier Gordon Gentle would be investigated through the inquest process.
Trooper Clarke, 19, from Littleworth, Staffordshire, was one of two soldiers who died in March 2003 in a "friendly fire" incident west of Basra. Fusilier Gentle, 19, from Glasgow, of the Royal Highland Fusiliers, died in June 2004 in an improvised explosive device attack on British vehicles in Basra.
Speaking at Westminster, Mrs Gentle said: "I think Tony Blair sent our boys to war on a lie. He just agreed with George Bush right away. They didn't even give it a second thought."
She said the Government's promise of an inquiry "when the time was right" was not good enough.
Peter Brierley, whose son Shaun was killed in the conflict, said: "My son always used to say he would defend his country. This was not defending his country. The country was not under any threat of attack."
The hearing at the Lords is expected to last three days.
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