[Media-watch] Motion to impeach Blair is finalised - Independent - 7/11/2004

[Julie-ann Davies]

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=580357

Motion to impeach Blair is finalised
By Francis Elliott, Deputy Political Editor
Published : 07 November 2004

Tony Blair is charged with "gross misconduct" over the war in Iraq in a 
parliamentary motion to impeach him, published today.

A cross-party group of MPs has released the text exclusively to The 
Independent on Sunday as the campaign to invoke the ancient procedure 
gathers momentum.

The motion calls for a select committee to investigate the "conduct of the 
PM in relation to the war in Iraq".

The committee would draw up the "articles of impeachment" and a panel of law 
lords would judge whether Mr Blair deliberately misled the nation. A guilty 
verdict would see Mr Blair arrested by the Serjeant at Arms and taken into 
custody by Black Rod.

Michael Martin, the Commons Speaker, must rule on whether the motion can be 
tabled for debate on the floor of the Commons. Although Mr Blair has little 
chance of losing an impeachment vote, its being held would be a serious 
humiliation.

Douglas Hogg, the Tory former cabinet minister in charge of drafting the 
motion, said: "We have discussed the wording of the motion with the house 
authorities and we believe that it can be properly placed on the order 
paper."

Adam Price, the Plaid Cymru MP who began the campaign to impeach the PM, 
said he hoped 30 to 50 MPs would support the motion. So far 23 have signed 
up.

The text of the draft motion that the MPs will seek to table later this 
month reads:

"That a select committee of not more than 13 members be appointed to 
investigate and to report to the house on the conduct of the Prime Minister 
in relation to the war against Iraq and to consider;

"(a) the conclusion of the Iraq Survey Group that in March 2003 Iraq did not 
possess weapons of mass destruction and had been essentially free of them 
since the mid-1990s;

 "(b) the Prime Minister's acknowledgement that he was wrong when he 
asserted that Iraq was then in possession of chemical or biological weapons 
or was then engaged in active efforts to develop nuclear weapons or was 
thereby a current or serious threat to the UK national interest or that 
possession of WMD then enabled Iraq to inflict real damage upon the region 
and the stability of the world;

"(c) the opinion of the Secretary-General of the United Nations that the 
invasion of Iraq in 2003 was unlawful;

"(d) whether there exist sufficient grounds to impeach the Rt Hon Tony Blair 
on charges of gross misconduct in his advocacy of the case for war against 
Iraq and in his conduct of policy in connection with that war.

"That the committee shall within 48 days of its appointment report to this 
house such resolutions, articles of impeachment or other recommendations as 
it shall think fit."

Tony Blair will fly to Washington this week where he will urge George Bush 
to increase pressure on Israel to reach a settlement with the Palestinians. 
He will insist that justice for the Palestinians is as vital in the 
international war against terrorism as bringing stability to Iraq. When the 
Prime Minister congratulated the US President on his re-election last week, 
he added that revitalising the Middle East peace process is "the single most 
pressing political challenge in our world today". He also told Mr Bush that 
terrorism "will not be defeated by military might alone but also by 
demonstrating the strength of our common values". His statement will form 
the agenda for their talks when he visits Washington on Thursday and Friday, 
Downing Street said last night.