Blair Concerned Over Iraq Effect

BBC

Tony Blair is concerned accusations about the way he took Britain to war in Iraq could harm Labour in the election.
Mr Blair said "mud sticks", as he pointed to Michael Howard's "personal" attacks on him as evidence the Tory campaign was failing.

Mr Howard, meanwhile, accused the prime minister of deceiving the Cabinet and the Commons over the war.

Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy will tell a rally on Sunday that Iraq will "dog" Mr Blair if he wins the election.

Leaked memo

Iraq looks set to dominate the final day of the last weekend of the campaign with Sunday newspapers publishing a series of stories about the run-up to the war.

The Sunday Times has published what it says is a leaked memo dated 23 July 2002 in which Foreign Secretary Jack Straw is quoted as saying US President George Bush had "made up his mind to take military action even if the timing was not yet decided. But the case was thin".

He reportedly added: "Saddam was not threatening his neighbours, and his WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North Korea or Iran. We should work up a plan for an ultimatum to Saddam to allow back in the UN weapons inspectors. This would help with the legal justification for the use of force."

The memo followed a meeting, attended by Mr Blair, Mr Straw, Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon and the Attorney General.

Downing Street claims the document contains "nothing new".

Legal assurance

Former chief of defence staff, Admiral Sir Michael Boyce, meanwhile told the BBC that he remains satisfied that he had unequivocal "top legal cover" for his forces when they went to war in 2003.

He was responding to the article in The Observer which suggested he had concerns over whether he could face prosecution over the Iraq war.

Lord Boyce told the BBC he sought, and received, "in black and white terms", the legal assurance he needed prior to the war.

This came in the form of "four or five lines" from the attorney general's office, after the collapse of efforts to secure a second UN resolution on Iraq, he said.

He said that he had been seeking legal assurances since February, and that after the failure to secure a second UN resolution, it was "imperative to have something I could show my troops, for their peace of mind and their families' peace of mind".

Complacency warning

Michael Howard told the Sunday Telegraph Mr Blair had though it legitimate to "dissemble" on Iraq to Lord Boyce.

Defending his accusation that Mr Blair had lied about the war, he told the paper: "What's worse? Accusing someone of lying? Or taking the country to war on a lie? This is perfectly justified.

"Whatever the consequences, you can't maintain a position which says that it's legitimate to trick the Cabinet, to deceive the House of Commons and to dissemble to the Chief of the Defence Staff. That's not the way government should be conducted."

On Sunday, Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy will tell a rally in Newbury that Tony Blair's "is now a failed premiership", and will warn that the Iraq war will continue to dog him in office if he wins a third term as prime minister.

Mr Kennedy will also criticise the Conservatives for fighting a "narrow, mean-spirited campaign" and appealing to voters' worst instincts.

The three main party leaders will take listeners' questions on the UK's commercial radio network on Sunday.

The leaders are taking questions at 10:00BST, but, as with their appearance on the BBC's Question Time during the week, they will appear in turn rather than in a head-to-head debate.

Meanwhile, latest polls suggest Labour still has a strong lead while the Lib Dems are in their best position since 1992.

Three polls published on Sunday give Labour a vote share of between 36%-39%.