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Last year a British judge ruled Blair had immunity from prosecution. Photograph: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
A high court judge is to consider whether a legal ban on prosecuting Tony Blair over the Iraq war can be challenged.
A private criminal prosecution against the former Labour prime minister was blocked in 2016 when it was ruled Blair would have immunity from any criminal charges.
On Tuesday the high court will consider arguments for reversing that ban and for keeping it.
The attorney general, the governments top law officer, wants the ban upheld and also to join the case.
The current controversy revolves around Blairs decision when prime minister to take Britain into the invasion of Iraq in 2003, which was led by the United States and sparked huge opposition.
In November 2016, a British court ruled against an application to bring a private prosecution. A district judge at Westminster magistrates court ruled Blair had immunity from prosecution over the Iraq war and that any case could also involve details being disclosed under the Official Secrets Act.
The attempted private prosecution was brought in the name of a former top Iraqi general and sought to try Blair for the crime of aggression. On Tuesday, a more senior judge will consider whether there are sufficient grounds to grant a judicial review of the rejection of the prosecution.
The high court judge will consider the paper submissions made by lawyers and there will be no public hearing.
The high court will also consider whether Jeremy Wright QC, the attorney general, can join the case. Wright believes it is in the public interest that the private prosecution is blocked.
A spokesperson for the attorney general said of the high court proceedings: The next stage will be the court considering the papers and making a decision on whether to grant permission for a judicial review.
The attorney is seeking to intervene to represent the public interest.
The private prosecution seeks the trial in a British court of Blair, the foreign secretary in 2003, Jack Straw, and Lord Goldsmith, the attorney general at the time the government was deciding to join the invasion of Iraq.
It seeks their conviction for the crime of aggression and is based on the damning findings of last years Chilcot report into the British decision to join the invasion of Iraq, under the false pretext that Saddam Husseins regime had weapons of mass destruction.
The attorney general claims the case for the crime of aggression does not exist in English law, even though it does exist in international law. But that argument appears to be undermined in a document written by Goldsmith himself.
In his 2003 memo on the legality of the Iraq war, Goldsmith, then attorney general, seemed to accept a key point of those now seeking his prosecution. Aggression is a crime under customary international law which automatically forms part of domestic law, he wrote.
After the Chilcot report was released some families of British service personnel who died fighting in Iraq called for Blair to face criminal charges.
The latest attempt at a private prosecution is brought by Gen Abdul-Wahid Shannan ar-Ribat, former chief of staff of the Iraqi army and now living in exile.
His application to Westminster magistrates court for a summons to be issued against Blair was refused by district judge Michael Snow, who said the former prime minister had implied immunity as former head of state and government ministers, therefore offence not made out Allegations involve potential details being disclosed under the Official Secrets Act for which attorney general and director of public prosecutions consent are required.
The lawyers behind the private prosecution attempt include Michael Mansfield QC and Imran Khan, who fought a long battle for justice for the family of Stephen Lawrence.
It is not clear when the decision by the high court will be made public.
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Tony Blair: Iraq war prosecution attempt goes back to court - The Guardian
A boy carried belongings through rubble as he fled fighting between Iraqi special forces and Islamic State militants in western Mosul, Iraq, on Monday.
HAMAM AL-ALIL, Iraq During a visit south of Mosul on Monday, a senior US official praised territorial gains against the Islamic State group in Iraq, but local officials cautioned more aid is needed to rebuild following victories against the extremists.
The Mosul fight is approaching its final stages, Brett McGurk, special presidential envoy for the global coalition against the Islamic State, said during a meeting with Iraqi military and civilian officials at a water treatment plant near the town of Hamam al-Alil.
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The world is now seeing that (Iraqi) soldiers are completely destroying Daesh, McGurk said, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group that is also referred to as ISIS and ISIL. He described the fight to retake Mosul, which was launched nearly seven months ago, as one of the most difficult urban battles since World War II.
But the men who had gathered to receive McGurk and US Ambassador to Iraq Douglas Silliman were dressed in suits, not fatigues, and they had come asking for aid, not weapons and training.
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With the fight against ISIS in Iraq about to enter its fourth year, more than half of the territory the extremists once held is now under government control, but with those advances has come greater demand for reconstruction money.
The US military footprint in Iraq has steadily grown in the buildup to and throughout the Mosul operation, but US funds for humanitarian relief and stabilization remain a fraction of defense spending in this fight.
We are looking for more support as the west side of the city will be liberated soon, Major General Muhammed al-Shimary with Nineveh Operations Command told McGurk after thanking him for US assistance in the fight so far.
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McGurk said the water treatment plant that now provides water to more than 100,000 people in Nineveh is symbolic of this entire effort that weve embarked upon to defeat Daesh.
Here in Nineveh we have hundreds of projects like this funded by our coalition, he said, adding that a similar list of reconstruction projects was being drawn up for the rebel-held Syrian city of Raqqa as US-led coalition forces surround it ahead of a long-anticipated operation to retake it.
But overall, US contributions to Iraqi reconstruction are unlikely to meet the countrys needs. Iraq continues to struggle with an economic crisis and the central government has called on the international community to provide the bulk of the funds.
Last year under the Obama administration, McGurk emphasized the need for a balance between speed and sustainability in the fight against the Islamic State.
Before you launch a major operation you have to have in place who is going to hold the city, who is going to govern the city, he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during testimony in June 2016.
However, President Trump has pledged to accelerate the military fight. While the White House has yet to release an official overhaul of the fight, since taking office Trump has handed greater decision-making power regarding troop levels in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan to the Pentagon.
Additionally, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has emphasized the limited role the United States will play in reconstruction in Iraq and Syria.
As a coalition we are not in the business of nation-building or reconstruction, Tillerson said during a meeting of foreign ministers in Washington in March. Instead, he said the United States would equip war torn communities to take the lead in rebuilding their institutions and returning to stability.
As of March 31, the Pentagon has spent $12.5 billion on the fight against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria with daily costs averaging $13 million since the operation was launched in 2014.
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US trumpets Mosul gains, but Iraq says more aid needed - The Boston Globe
Assistant Commandant Gen. Glenn Walters on May 18 will present the Silver Star to a Marine who initially received the Bronze Star for saving his linguist in Iraq.
Capt. Andrew Kims award was upgraded as part of a Defense Department-wide review of nearly 1,400 combat valor awards issued since 2001, a Marine Corps news release says. He will receive the Silver Star at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms in California.
A sergeant at the time, Kim was on a mission on Aug. 6, 2003, when an Iraqi man shot the linguist in the neck, the news release says. Kim killed the attacker, but small-arms fire erupted from the rear and Kim was hit several times.
Disregarding his own wounds, Kim grabbed the linguist and helped him into a vehicle, the news release says. They drove off but five Iraqis in a white pickup truck gave chase while firing at their vehicle.
After linking up with other Marines, Kim ordered a counter-attack that killed his pursuers, the news release says
Kims gallantry and effectiveness under fire saved the lives of all those conducting the mission, the news release says. By his bold initiative, undaunted courage and complete dedication to duty, Kim reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.
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Marine to receive Silver Star for saving linguist in Iraq - Marine Corps Times