[Media-watch] FOI act fails to uncover war advice - The Independent - 26/01/2005

[Julie-ann Davies]

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=604612


Information Act fails to uncover war advice
By Andrew Grice, Political Editor
26 January 2005


The Government blocked requests for it to disclose the full legal advice 
which allowed Tony Blair to take Britain to war in Iraq yesterday.

A formal application was made by The Independent under the Freedom of 
Information Act for ministers to publish the advice given to the Prime 
Minister by Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney General. The application, one of 18 
such requests, has been seen as a litmus test of the Blair administration's 
commitment to open government after the Act took effect this month.

In a letter to this newspaper, the Department of Constitutional Affairs 
(DCA) said the Act provided that information was exempt if it was covered by 
legal professional privilege, which applied to the Attorney General's 
advice. The DCA said this reflects a public interest in protecting the 
confidentiality of communications between lawyers and their clients.

The DCA added: "It is particularly important for the Government to seek 
legal advice in relation to sensitive and difficult decisions, and for any 
advice given to be fully informed and fully reasoned."

It accepted that there was a "public interest" in understanding the legal 
justification for the war but insisted that the matterhad been been debated 
in Parliament. "We therefore consider that in all the circumstances of the 
case the public interest in maintaining each exemption clearly outweighs the 
public interest in disclosing the advice," it said.

Explaining its reasons last night, the DCA also took refuge in the 
long-standing convention that the advice of government law officers is not 
published.

The Independent has asked for an internal review of the Government's 
decision and the case may be the subject of an appeal to Richard Thomas, the 
Information Commissioner.

The Government's decision was criticised by senior Labour MPs, who believe 
disclosure would have been embarrassing for Mr Blair. There is a suspicion 
at Westminster that Lord Goldsmith's full advice included caveats about the 
legality of the war that were not mentioned in a written statement he gave 
to Parliament.

MPs also believe that the Attorney General changed his advice in the 
immediate run-up to the conflict. The Butler inquiry found out that Lord 
Goldsmith sought - and received - an unequivocal statement from Mr Blair 
that Iraq was in breach of its obligations under United Nations resolutions 
before giving him the green light.

Robin Cook, who resigned from the Cabinet on the eve of the war, said: "The 
decision is not surprising but it does not make it any less depressing. We 
all know the real reason why the Government won't release the advice: it 
doesn't want us to know how weak the legal argument for war really was.

"I don't believe the Government can get away with claiming legal 
justification when it is making a decision to go to war. Parliament is 
entitled to know the full facts."

Clare Short, who resigned as International Development Secretary after the 
conflict, said: "Who is the Attorney General's client? Who is the Attorney 
General accountable to? It should be the country, not ministers. It wasn't 
even shared with the full Cabinet."

The Government's decision is unlikely to end the controversy over whether 
such legal advice should be revealed. It emerged last week that Gordon Brown 
wants it to be disclosed ahead of future military action as part of a 
package of measures to restore people's trust in politicians.