The Silences of Starmer. Blair & the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War
Keir Starmer, while approving a knighthood for Tony Blair, notes that Iraq remains an issue for many (UK government urged to rescind Tony Blair’s knighthood, 4 January 2022). The problem is that elevating the former prime minister to the Order of the Garter is an official attempt to say that the Iraq war doesn’t matter any-more. The current Labour leader had it right when, as a QC and human rights lawyer, he wrote in the Guardian on 17 March 2003 that “flawed advice does not make the unlawful use of force lawful”. Many of us remember the point; it’s a pity Sir Keir seems to have forgotten it.
Keith Flett
Tottenham, London Guardian Fletter, January 2022
Keir Starmer’s 2003 Guardian piece is here:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/mar/17/foreignpolicy.iraq1?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
His silence on the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War is not a surprise to those of us who opposed the war but Rupert Murdoch has noticed too. Patrick Maguire (Times 20th March) in an article which is mainly attacking the Labour left instances the silences of Starmer on the 20th anniversary
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