Nick Clegg's 'illegal' Iraq war gaffe prompts legal warning (UK deputy PM)

[Prometheus Bound]

Source: UK Guardian

Nick Clegg's 'illegal' Iraq war gaffe prompts legal warning
Coalition in confusion as deputy prime minister pronounces invasion 'illegal' at dispatch box
Wednesday 21 July 2010 21.06 BST

Nick Clegg was tonight forced to clarify his position on the Iraq war after he stood up at the dispatch box of the House of Commons and pronounced the invasion illegal.

The deputy prime minister insisted he was speaking in a personal capacity, as a leading international lawyer warned that the statement by a government minister in such a formal setting could increase the chances of charges against Britain in international courts.

Philippe Sands, professor of law at University College London, said: "A public statement by a government minister in parliament as to the legal situation would be a statement that an international court would be interested in, in forming a view as to whether or not the war was lawful."

<snip>

Shortly before that slip-up, Clegg threw the government's position concerning the legality of the Iraq war into confusion when, at the end of heated exchanges with Jack Straw, foreign secretary at the time of the war, Clegg said: "We may have to wait for his memoirs, but perhaps one day he will account for his role in the most disastrous decision of all: the illegal invasion of Iraq."

Clegg's remarks could be legally significant because he was standing at the government dispatch box in the Commons.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/jul/21/nick-clegg-illegal-iraq-war-gaffe

[Nye Bevan]

1. Ah, the classic definition of a political gaffe.

When a politician accidentally tells the truth.

[ProudDad]

3. Ooops...

Re my post below...

Great minds and gutters :hi:

[ProudDad]

2. Definition of "Political Gaffe"

Accidentally telling the Truth...

[SILVER__FOX52]

4. The truth is so inconvienent.

[alp227]

5. So? Bush said dumber things and didn't get any warnings.

Hats off to Lib Dem Clegg!

At least Obama hasn't said the Iraq War was a crime yet. Otherwise a lynch mob would be trampling the Secret Service. And what about the inquiries by the British government about the legality of the war?

[Jumping John]

6. And so more recruits are motivated to join the insurgency in Iraq. : ( n/t

[IDemo]

7. Err,,,"slip-up"? I don't think so

[TheWatcher]

8. So the road to total enslavement and bondage creeps ever forward.

The Truth is now considered a "gaffe", or a "slip-up".

It won't be too much longer before it is "criminal" and "jailable"

I'm sure the Death Penalty will follow soon after.

I'm not sure how much more awesomely free the citizens of The UK and The US could possibly get.

:sarcasm:

Oh well, better go shopping for my new Neon LeBron Jersey. I'm sure there will be many grazing in line ahead of me, so I should get there early. :)

[Kringle]

9. what British statute was broken? .nt

[iamtechus]

10. As signatories to the UN Treaty brits are subject to its conventions

[Kringle]

12. is that how British law reads? .nt

[Prometheus Bound]

11. You might want to follow Britain's Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq war.

The head of MI5 at the time has given testimony that Tony Blair lied to Parliament and the British people to get his country to invade Iraq.

[T_i_B]

13. Nick agrees with George – and fails to defend his constituents

http://www.leftfootforward.org/2010/07/nick-agrees-with-george-and-fails-to-defend-his-constituents/

Nick Clegg today sat shoulder-to-shoulder with George Osborne in defending the axing of the loan to Sheffield Forgemasters – in his constituency - forcing the plant to stop work on a new press for nuclear power plants which would have resulted in the creation of 200 jobs. In his constituency. The deputy prime minister spent the entire election campaign, and the TV debates in particular, telling anyone who would listen that he was in it to represent his Sheffield constituency, constantly repeating the refrain.

Yet today, he floundered over the justification for the decision when questioned by Jack Straw at prime minister’s questions, taking his cues from George Osborne, to all the world looking his chief political strategist, the organ grinder, nodding away like the Churchill dog, on hand to brief the monkey.

Having had his pep talk, Clegg failed to answer Straw’s questions over Forgemasters – in particular the point raised in yesterday’s Financial Times. The FT had reported that Graham Honeyman, Forgemasters’ chief executive, told the deputy prime minister he was willing to dilute his share, something Clegg admitted in a private letter to the businessman.

[Turborama]

14. Well, no matter how hard he tries to spin it, he can't un-say it, so what now?

Clegg backtracks after declaring Iraq war illegal

By Robert Verkaik and Andy McSmith

Nick Clegg used his first appearance standing in for David Cameron at Prime Minister's Questions yesterday to declare that the Iraq war was "illegal", and demand that Labour explain why they dragged Britain into it. What appeared to have escaped the Deputy Prime Minister in the heat of the moment was that most senior Conservatives also voted for the war, including the Chancellor George Osborne and Foreign Secretary William Hague, who were sitting alongside Mr Clegg as he spoke, and Mr Cameron, who was in Washington.

He also seemingly forgot that he was speaking in Parliament as the acting head of government, and that his words could be interpreted as an official admission by the UK that the military action undertaken seven years ago was illegal. As the implications of his remarks sank in, Mr Clegg's office hurriedly issued a statement insisting that he was speaking personally, not expressing an official view.

=snip=

Later, his office put out a statement saying: "The Deputy Prime Minister was expressing his long-held view about the legality of the Iraq conflict. With regards to the coalition Government's official position on the legal basis for the Iraq conflict, it awaits the outcome of the inquiry being led by Sir John Chilcot."

But this attempt to backtrack was rejected by a spokesman for the inquiry, which said that it would not make a judgment on the legality of war, merely the legal issues in the run-up to the invasion.

Full article: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/clegg-backtracks-after-declaring-iraq-war-illegal-2032162.html

[Enrique]

15. was he wearing his wig?

in England nothing you say is official if you're not wearing your wig.

[Solly Mack]

16. k/r