| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Jez" |
| Date: |
07 Sep 2004 07:55:54 AM |
| Object: |
OT: Anti-Blair move legal, lord says |
Anti-Blair move legal, lord says
David Hencke, Westminster correspondent
Tuesday September 7, 2004
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/commons/story/0,9061,1298663,00.html
A former Labour law officer who opposed the Iraq war said yesterday that
legally, Tony Blair would not be able to avoid a parliamentary debate
calling for his impeachment.
Lord Murray, the former lord advocate of Scotland who served under the
Wilson and Callaghan governments in the 1970s, said it was "perfectly
permissible to move an impeachment motion".
Downing Street has argued that the process is effectively obsolete
because it has not been used for more than 154 years, since Lord
Palmerston faced a motion.
Lord Murray himself faced a call for his own impeachment in 1977. He was
accused of mishandling a murder case that involved the wrongful
conviction of Patrick Meehan, who received a royal pardon after a failed
attempt by Lord Murray to convict another man who confessed to the crime.
Lord Murray said yesterday: "I remember the suggestion to impeach me,
which was, of course, entirely misconceived. For an impeachment trial to
go ahead in the House of Lords there had to be a vote in favour in the
House of Commons.
"It is, nevertheless, perfectly permissible to move an impeachment
motion in the Commons, and I do not think a debate can be avoided," he
added.
"My view happens to be that the decision to go to war was illegal under
international law, and that the reason given for going to war in the
first place was insufficient to make it legal."
Adam Price, the Plaid Cymru MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, who is
heading the impeachment campaign, will today table 101 questions to Mr
Blair about his conduct in the handling of the war.
These include a large number on the accuracy of intelligence reports and
when Mr Blair was informed that intelligence on weapons of mass
destruction had been withdrawn.
He also wants to know why information on closing down biological warfare
production volunteered by the Iraqis was not given to parliament.
--
Jez
"The condition of alienation, of being asleep, of being unconscious,
of being out of one's mind, is the condition of the normal man. Society
highly values its normal man.It educates children to lose themselves
and to become absurd,and thus to be normal. Normal men have killed
perhaps 100,000,000 of their fellow normal men in the last fifty years."
R.D. Laing
Skype callto://hellward
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| User: "Meteorite Debris" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Anti-Blair move legal, lord says |
11 Sep 2004 02:25:35 AM |
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On Tue, 07 Sep 2004 13:55:54 +0100 the ET form known as
Jez<iced_spear@NOSPAMdsl.pipex.com> sent a radio signal across the
vast expanse of deep space -._.--._.--._.--._.--._.--._.
Anti-Blair move legal, lord says
David Hencke, Westminster correspondent
Tuesday September 7, 2004
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/commons/story/0,9061,1298663,00.html
A former Labour law officer who opposed the Iraq war said yesterday that
legally, Tony Blair would not be able to avoid a parliamentary debate
calling for his impeachment.
Lord Murray, the former lord advocate of Scotland who served under the
Wilson and Callaghan governments in the 1970s, said it was "perfectly
permissible to move an impeachment motion".
Downing Street has argued that the process is effectively obsolete
because it has not been used for more than 154 years, since Lord
Palmerston faced a motion.
Lord Murray himself faced a call for his own impeachment in 1977. He was
accused of mishandling a murder case that involved the wrongful
conviction of Patrick Meehan, who received a royal pardon after a failed
attempt by Lord Murray to convict another man who confessed to the crime.
Lord Murray said yesterday: "I remember the suggestion to impeach me,
which was, of course, entirely misconceived. For an impeachment trial to
go ahead in the House of Lords there had to be a vote in favour in the
House of Commons.
"It is, nevertheless, perfectly permissible to move an impeachment
motion in the Commons, and I do not think a debate can be avoided," he
added.
"My view happens to be that the decision to go to war was illegal under
international law, and that the reason given for going to war in the
first place was insufficient to make it legal."
Adam Price, the Plaid Cymru MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, who is
heading the impeachment campaign, will today table 101 questions to Mr
Blair about his conduct in the handling of the war.
These include a large number on the accuracy of intelligence reports and
when Mr Blair was informed that intelligence on weapons of mass
destruction had been withdrawn.
He also wants to know why information on closing down biological warfare
production volunteered by the Iraqis was not given to parliament.
How nice to know that the instrument of impeachment is still active,
if unused, in the Westminster system. John Howard is certainly a
candidate for the same reasons as Phony Tony. There is also the truth
overboard affair. I might write to the Senate Committee on a Certain
Maritime Incident (it is a real name) and ask them to prepare articles
of impeachment against Little Johnny.
--
epicurus1*at*optusnet*dot*com*dot*au
apatriot #1, atheist #1417,
Chief EAC prophet
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~pk1956/
Apatriotism Yahoo Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/apatriotism
"Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever
conceived." - Isaac Asimov
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