John Prescott: Ex-deputy PM says Iraq War was illegal

Former deputy PM now Lord Prescott has written an article in the Mirror in the wake of the Chilcot Report stating that the Iraq war was illegal and he expresses " great sadness and anger" at the decision , he also praises Jeremy Corbyn for apologising on the party's behalf.

It was a damning indictment of how the Blair Government handled the war – and I take my fair share of blame. As the Deputy Prime Minister in that Government I must express my fullest apology, especially to the families of the 179 men and women who gave their lives in the Iraq War.

On the build up to the Illegal war he says...

The Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith , came to the Cabinet, verbally announced it was legal, but provided no documentation to justify it. The timing of the decision was clearly designed to endorse an almost immediate action for us to go to war.

In my evidence to Chilcot, I said the Attorney General in the weeks before the decision was an “unhappy bunny” as he continued to find a justification to invade Iraq. But the overwhelming matter of grave concern was our “special relationship” with the US and President George W Bush .

In earlier discussions with Blair I expressed concern, to which he replied that every Prime Minister has to decide early on whether or not they are to become a special friend to the US.

On his visit to America he says...

In the days after 9/11 , Blair suggested I visit America to satisfy my concerns. It was arranged for me to meet Vice President Dick Cheney in the White House. He appeared via video link from a secret location.

I then spoke to US Senators and military personnel which left me with the overall impression that the Americans were going into Iraq – with or without us.
A senior US senator told me, ­referring to the failure to topple Saddam after the Kuwait invasion: “John, this is unfinished business.” I informed Tony of this but still he expressed the view that his policy and purpose was a UN resolution, not regime change.

Prescott calls the “I am with you, whatever" memo devastating...

And Tony’s note to Bush with that devastating quote “I am with you, whatever” was all the Americans needed to go in, without UN support.

And wrapping up he says...

I will live with the decision of going to war and its catastrophic consequences for the rest of my life. In 2004, the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that as regime change was the prime aim of the Iraq War, it was illegal. With great sadness and anger, I now believe him to be right.
www.mirror.co.uk...

This is a damning indictment of Blair by one of the most senior members of the government and party that took the decision to ignore international law and destroy Iraq , the longer the war criminal Blair remains free the deeper the stain on this country's reputation.
Welcome to the real world Prezza.

originally posted by: gortex
This is a damning indictment of Blair by one of the most senior members of the government and party that took the decision to ignore international law and destroy Iraq , the longer the war criminal Blair remains free the deeper the stain on this country's reputation.
Welcome to the real world Prezza.

You mean ....

The same John Prescott who was never going to accept a peerage

Now Lord Prescott!!

Now trying to expunge his own guilt in the whole sordid affair .... He was

in it right up to his nose along with and fully supporting Tony Blair.

As the Deputy Prime Minister in that Government I must express my fullest apology, especially to the families of the 179 men and women who gave their lives in the Iraq War.

And what about the lives of thousands of innocent Iraqis and their families? Do they not matter?

Well at least he has had the minerals to apologise for his part in the whole sordid situation, which is more than the deluded Blair has done.

However, he must of known it was illegal at the time, he must of known it was about regime change and regime change alone.

It's all a bit hollow really isn't it especially when he says he now has to agree with what Kofi Annan had to say in 2004. Did it take the Chilcot report for him to change his mind or did he change his mind a long time ago, but chose to remain silent until now?

a reply to: Cobaltic1978

Did it take the Chilcot report for him to change his mind or did he change his mind a long time ago, but chose to remain silent until now?

I think the latter , seems to me he's seen the writing on the wall and want's to publicly detach himself from Blair , the proverbial rat leaving the sinking ship.

a reply to: gortex
In a "Have I got news for you" appearance of 2015 he partly ducked the issue, but referred to the war as a "mistake", so even then he was distancing himself from it.



Two minutes in. "We made a mistake- no doubt about that".

a reply to: gortex

what is not so "funny" is that he was conveniently made a Lord 2 months before appearing before the Inquiry, basically "untouchable" and no doubt as a thank you by the Queen for raping freeing another country of its resources and instilling "democracy"

en.wikipedia.org...

Life peerage[edit] It was announced on 28 May 2010 that Prescott was to be awarded a life peerage,[67] The peerage was gazetted on 15 June in the 2010 Dissolution Honours.[68] He was introduced in the House of Lords on8 July as Baron Prescott,of Kingston upon Hull in the County of East Yorkshire,[69] and the Letters Patent were gazetted on 12 July, dated 7 July.[70] Note that the comma appears after "Prescott", not "Hull", because his title is "Baron Prescott", not "Baron Prescott of Kingston upon Hull". Iraq War inquiry[edit]

On 30 July 2010, Lord Prescott appeared before the panel at the Chilcot Inquiry concerning the Iraq War. Prescott stated that he was doubtful about the legality, intelligence and information about Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction. The inquiry was launched by Gordon Brown in the summer of 2009 shortly after operations in the war ended.[71] In 2016, after publication of the resultant Chilcot Report, which was critical of the war but remained neutral on its legality, Prescott declared that the invasion by UK and US forces had been "illegal" and that members of Tony Blair's Cabinet "were given too little paper documentation to make decisions".[72]

how convenient!

a reply to: TheConstruKctionofLight

This is very telling of the power plays involved

www.independent.co.uk...

Jeremy Corbyn Labour coup designed to stop him 'calling for Tony Blair's head' after Chilcot report, says Alex Salmond
'It would be a mistake to believe that Chilcot and current events are entirely unconnected. The link is through the Labour Party'

Alex Salmond has appeared to suggest the internal Labour party coup against Jeremy Corbyn is connected with the publication of the long-awaited Chilcot report into the Iraq war. His comments come just three days before the publication of the inquiry into the 2003 Iraq war.
Earlier reports have suggested Mr Blair, the former Prime Minister, and his contemporaries will be savaged in an “absolutely brutal” verdict. In an article for the Herald, the former Scottish First Minister wrote: “It would be a mistake to believe that Chilcot and current events are entirely unconnected. The link is through the Labour Party”

“I have been puzzling as to exactly why the Parliamentary Labour Party chose this moment to launch their coup against Jeremy Corbyn and just what explains the desperation to get him out last week. It can hardly be because of a European referendum where [Mr] Corbyn’s campaigning, although less than energetic, was arguably more visible than that of say the likely big political winner Teresa May?”
He added: “I had a conversation on exactly this point with veteran Labour firebrand Dennis Skinner. He answered in one word ‘Iraq

originally posted by: Cobaltic1978
. Did it take the Chilcot report for him to change his mind or did he change his mind a long time ago, but chose to remain silent until now?

Yes, he did say himself at the Chilcot Inquiry, (* in 2010) concerning the Iraq War, that he was doubtful about the legality, intelligence and information about Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction.
But it's difficult to know exactly his perspective. Prescott may or may not have been privy to all Blair's consultations, since Blair did not always have full cabinet meetings, and it seems would often exclude some cabinet ministers.

*Edit.

a reply to: gortex

I don't recall the details, there was a time it was said Prescott suddenly lost his sparkle. His verbal delivery was said to have suddenly become dull and unfeeling. The suggestion was he had been blackmailed in some way.

I very much doubt he is his own person and anything he says is likely to be yet more of the manipulation of public views.

a reply to: gortex

Ha! The pot calling the kettle black.

Two Jags doesn't come out of this smelling of roses; a snivelling little yes man who should have resigned his post at the soonest opportunity, like several of his colleagues did.

originally posted by: CJCrawley
a reply to: gortex

Ha! The pot calling the kettle black.

Two Jags doesn't come out of this smelling of roses; a snivelling little yes man who should have resigned his post at the soonest opportunity, like several of his colleagues did.

Two Jags more like Two shags

butterzpolitics.blogspot.co.uk...

Double post

More fallout for Blair today as former shadow home secretary David Davis has said he will present the motion on Thursday accusing the former PM of misleading Parliament.

He has cross-party support with SNP MP Alex Salmond saying Mr Blair's actions were "a parliamentary crime, and it's time for Parliament to deliver the verdict".
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he agreed "Parliament must hold to account, including Tony Blair, those who took us into this particular war". Asked if he would back the motion, he told the BBC: "I haven't seen it yet, but I think I probably would."

Mr Davis said if his motion is accepted by Speaker John Bercow, it could be debated before Parliament breaks up for the summer on 21 July.
He said if Mr Blair was found guilty it was unclear what actions would be taken but "the government could choose to strip him of his Privy Councillorship".
www.bbc.co.uk...

a reply to: eletheia

Two Jags more like Two shags

I don't know how anyone can still be voting Labour after that government. There was only one decent one among them and he's dead now (Robin Cook).


a reply to: gortex

Good. Anything to discredit him so we don't see the lying, psychopathic twat on TV any more.

a reply to: CJCrawley

Robin Cook. A regular mountain walker, chose to climb a little known peak with Gaynor. Not much more than a good walk for a man of his ability. Locals say you could go up there a dozen times and never see another soul. Yet when he suddenly suffered a heart attack in one of the few places he could fall any distance, (eight feet I think), a never identified walker promptly appeared.

The place he suffered his heart attack was an ideal ambush spot for someone with a portable directed energy weapon.