Blair told no war unless UN agrees

In the event Britain and the US went ahead with the invasion of Iraq on March 20, 2003 despite opposition from the UN.

Jonathan Powell assured a meeting at 10 Downing Street three months before the war began that it was unlikely that America would proceed alone.

The Iraq Inquiry has released the minutes of the December 19, 2002 meeting, which set out three scenarios for the response to UN Security Council resolution 1441, which paved the way for the return of weapons inspectors to Iraq.

The third possible situation was: "At the other extreme, the US become frustrated with the UN and decide to take military action regardless, ie without UN support."

It notes: "There would be no question of the UK supporting military action in the event of scenario (three). In the absence of UK support, however, it was unlikely that the US would proceed."

Other previously classified documents released by the inquiry show the evolution of Attorney General Lord Goldsmith's thinking about whether Britain could legally attack Iraq without a second UN resolution authorising military action.

On January 14, 2003 he handed Mr Blair a six-page draft legal opinion which said resolution 1441 was not enough. The attorney general again told the prime minister on January 30, just before Mr Blair had a meeting with then US president George Bush, that he still believed a further resolution or UN statement backing force was needed.

But on February 12 Lord Goldsmith wrote a draft of the legal opinion he presented to Mr Blair on March 7 which said a "reasonable case" could be made for launching an attack without further Security Council support.

Former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell said: "Not withstanding the publication of the paper trail of legal advice, it still remains unclear what prompted the Attorney General, after his visit to the US, to change his mind on the vital issue of whether a fresh resolution was required to authorise military action."

It followed earlier evidence in which the UK's top diplomat questioned Tony Blair's relationship with ex-US president George Bush.

Lord Jay of Ewelme said Mr Blair "half-gave" Mr Bush commitments about British support.

He also said that both he and former Cabinet Secretary Lord Turnbull believed a second United Nations Security Council resolution was needed for the UK to take military action.

Lord Jay, permanent under secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) from 2002 to 2006, was asked whether he felt that Mr Blair had made up his mind to go to war whatever happened. He replied: "No, not at all. I had the impression that he had his own views on how he should deal with his relationship with president Bush.

"It was not how I would have dealt with president Bush, but I was not prime minister.

"And there were things said and things done and maybe commitments half-given which I would not myself have given, but that was a part of his relationship with President Bush."

Lord Jay said there were large gaps in Britain's knowledge about Iraq before the 2003 invasion and that the UK should have consulted France which still had an embassy in Baghdad.