Bereaved families speak out at a press conference to announce legal action against Tony Blair 03.04.05. Pictures Jonathan Knowles

Butler Report - "Blair mis-led the House and the public" - MP
Press Release - Roger Gale MP
Date: 15/07/2004 11:19:26 GMT | Posted on MFAW site 23/05/05

The Prime Minister mis-led both the House of Commons and the public in his presentation of intelligence
relating to Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction and their possible use, says North Thanet's MP,
Roger Gale.

Speaking at Westminster this morning the MP said:
" Having now had the opportunity to read the Butler report I am left in no doubt that Mr. Blair did indeed mis-lead the House and the public. Whether he did so deliberately or through carelessness is known only by him and is immaterial.
I believe that he has erred in a way that makes his position untenable and that has terminally damaged any credibility that he might have had left.

The discrepancies between the evidence contained in the report relating to knowledge available in March, August and September of 2002 which, as Michael Howard pointed out yesterday, is couched in very cautious terms ("Intelligence is sporadic and patchy "...."We have little intelligence on Iraq's chemical and biological weapons doctrine"...."Intelligence remains limited") and the Prime Minister's own words ("I am in no doubt that the threat is serious and current"..... The intelligence is "extensive, detailed and authorative") is so great as to defy belief.

We, on the Conservative benches, received briefings, based upon information emanating from Downing Street, that convinced those of us still harbouring doubts that we were right to support the Government in its decision to commit our troops to war.

We now know that the information that we were given was deeply flawed and may have been deliberately presented in a way that, to use Lord Butler's words, "reinforced the impression" that there was "fuller and firmer intelligence behind the judgments" than in fact existed. That inevitably must have influenced the way in which many on both sides of the House of Commons voted.

Those of us with children of military age take, I think, particular care when voting to send other Mother's sons
into danger:
If the war was about "regime change" - and nobody would deny that Saddam Hussein is a thoroughly evil man
- then we should have been told the unvarnished truth and allowed to exercise our own and individual judgment based upon that truth. I am angered that this Prime Minister has denied me, as a Member of
Parliament, that right."

CONTACT: Roger Gale MP - 07626 802961

OUR SONS WERE SACRIFICED FOR AN ILLEGAL WAR
No government minister has been available to explain the apparent change in the legal advice given by Lord Goldsmith in March 2003 regarding war with Iraq. Not only was the resignation letter from Elizabeth Wilmshurst, deputy chief legal adviser to the Foreign Office, censored but the government continues to refuse to release Lord Goldsmith's full legal advice.

This situation should not go on. On the 'Today' programme this morning former defence minister Lord Gilbert blustered that the public have no right to see the advice. 'It must be taken on trust' he said. This government has lost that trust.

Reg Keys, father of Lcp Tom Keys Royal Military Police, killed in Iraq in June 2003 said today:

'As I waved my son Tom off to war I believed the credibility of this government and the fact that this was a legal war. I now feel a man betrayed by his own government and their legal advisers. My son now rests in his grave , his oath of allegiance betrayed. There has to be accountability for this disgraceful conduct by the Prime Minister and his associates. That is why I am going to stand in Sedgefield because Tony Blair has to be made to account for this war. The families have every right to see the full legal advice.'

Rose Gentle, mother of fusilier Gordon Gentle, killed in Iraq June 2004, said :

'Tony Blair should be impeached for the lies he has told, he must be brought to court. We know there were no weapons of mass destruction, now we know there was no legal justification for the war either'.

For further information and to arrange interviews with Reg or Rose contact Andrew Burgin 07939 242229
Download the press release [Adobe Acrobat PDF]

ELECT REG KEYS
"The war was based on two lies. The first was that we were endangered from weapons of mass destruction. The second was that Iraq was somehow to blame for 9/11. It has been a tragedy for all of the families that have lost members.
As many as one hundred thousand may have died, half of them women and children.
If this is not a war crime, what is it?"
Professor Stephen Hawking
November 2004

Dear Friend,
Reg Keys lost his son Tom in Iraq, in a war declared illegal by Kofi Annan. He is one of many bereaved parents who feel betrayed by our Prime Minister.
Tony Blair was instrumental in leading us into a war on evidence that never existed, on threats of attack for which Iraq had no capability.

Reg Keys has decided to stand in the Sedgefield constituency against the Prime Minister at the forthcoming election.

He needs your help. We are confident that Reg Keys can be the anti-war unity candidate standing in Sedgefield. He is backed by all the military families who have spoken out against the war.

Our democracy has been undermined by the fact that not only were we taken to war against the wishes of the people of this country but Parliament was lied to by our leading politician.

Will you support Reg Keys? A small contribution will enable Reg to make his voice heard. We will be placing advertisements in national newspapers publicising Reg's reasons for standing in this election.

Please make cheques out to Reg Keys [elect05] – account number 40783099 – sort code 20/69/17. Credit card payments can be made via Housmans Bookshop on 0207 837 4473.

Time is short. Please help!

Andrew Burgin
07939 242229

Download this letter and circulate as widely as possible [Adobe Acrobat PDF]

LETTER TO MR BLAIR
by Military Families Against the War | 10.11.04

Dear Mr Blair,
We present ourselves here today to pay our respects and remember the courageous soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country in Iraq. Also to voice our support to the brave personnel currently involved in operations in Iraq who are dedicated to doing their duty. We feel that the most effective way of showing our support is to influence a prompt, safe return with the dignity and respect they so rightly deserve.

When enlisting, service men and women sign an Oath of Allegiance to her Majesty's Government. All these people ask in return is that their Government act in an honourable, truthful and responsible manner and only deploy troops into the theatre of war to risk their lives when absolutely necessary when all avenues of diplomacy have been exhausted. To deploy these troops based on deceit of WMD is totally morally unacceptable. The blame lies firmly at your doorstep. This was a contrived war, a war of option not necessity...More>>