Forty British MPs have asked UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to seek the opinion of the the International Court of Justice on the legality of the Iraq war, according a newspaper report this morning.
The Daily Mirrorsays the cross-party group, which had written a letter to Mr Annan dated July 20th, believes Prime Minister Tony Blair's government breached the UN's charter when it joined the US-led invasion of Iraq. The letter asked for an "advisory opinion" from the court in the Hague.
"Lots of people have concerns about the legitimacy of the war and it seems we do need to have clarification on this," said Mr Alan Simpson, an MP from Mr Blair's Labour Party, who is leading the group.
Mr Alan Simpson, Labour MP
The MP's letter to Mr Annan said: "It is clear that, in Britain and the United States, war was justified on the basis of intelligence reports of current and serious threats from weapons of mass destruction, purportedly held by Iraq, all of which turned out to be without foundation.
"We look to the court for an advisory opinion on this war, not only to address the casualties and damage done to the people and country of Iraq, but also to offer clear guidelines for the future about the legality of pre-emptive wars."
The latest official report on the flawed intelligence that led to the British joining the attack absolved Mr Blair of any responsibility but has done little quell public suspicions over the motives for supporting US President Mr George W. Bush.