Tony Blair should be prosecuted for war crimes – not just judged by history. Boris Johnson: 'eel-like' Tony Blair will avoid being imprisoned over Iraq war. / The Guardian

Even if Tony Blair uses his 'eel-like' powers to avoid prosecution, he will not escape the history books.' Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters

Tony Blair should be prosecuted for war crimes – not just judged by history

Boris Johnson is right, Blair is 'eel-like' – but if the Chilcot inquiry is published soon, he might not wriggle off the hook

Twiggy Garcia

theguardian.com, Wednesday 7 May 2014 / http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/07/tony-blair-war-crimes-prosecuted-eel-like-boris-johnson?CMP=fb_gu

Boris Johnson's sympathy isn't worth much; his sentiments during his LBC interview this week were touching, but he does not have the conviction to back the campaign to see Tony Blair face justice for his crimes. Johnson does, however, offer an insight into Blair's character which I have experienced first-hand – that Blair is slippery. The London mayor described him as "eel-like" and a "very adept and agile lawyer". A prosecution for war crimes in Johnson's words was "not going to happen".

Currently a prosecution depends on one of two factors: its status before the International Criminal Court (ICC) or its status in domestic law. The ICC calls itself "an independent, permanent court that tries persons accused of the most serious crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes". In all honesty I have no faith in the ICC bringing a conviction against Blair. The ICC has been accused of bias, and as being a tool of western imperialism, only punishing leaders from small states while ignoring crimes committed by richer and more powerful states. This sentiment has been expressed particularly by African leaders due to the disproportionate focus on their nations.

I believe our only hope of getting criminal charges brought against Blair lies at home. Yet we cannot rely on our current crop of politicians to do the right thing. They have no interest in seeing Blair face justice as it would bring more controversy to the current government on the world stage. Speaking of the Chilcot inquiry this week, David Cameron said: "It would be unreasonable to postpone it beyond the next election," with his eyes clearly on the prize rather than a genuine interest in justice.

Personally, I would like to see Blair brought to account for his actions while he is alive. That will send a clear message to any future politicians, both in the UK and abroad, helping to avoid another illegal misguided foray and the loss of innocent lives. Between 500,000 and 1 million people have lost their lives in Iraq (depending on which reports you believe), and with sectarian violence showing no signs of slowing down, the death toll is still on the rise.

The sword of Damocles is hanging over Tony Blair's head in the form of Sir John Chilcot's Iraq inquiry report, which unsurprisingly has faced long delays. It is going to tell the story of, what is in my mind, the most catastrophic foreign policy decision since 1956, when former British prime minister Anthony Eden misled parliament and the British public and lied to the world during the Suez crisis. Eden and Blair share several similarities: both willing to sacrifice our troops and the innocent lives of civilians in the Middle East for oil, regime change and imperialist gain.

Even if Blair uses his "eel-like" powers to avoid prosecution, like so many rich and powerful people have done before him, he will not escape the history books. The voices that protect him will slowly fade and make way for a chorus of condemnation.

It is said that great men and women live forever. They live through the lives they've touched, and the things they've accomplished. I would say this is also true for people on the other side of this fence: the villains. History will show the extent of Blair's failings, his perversions of the truth, his misleading of the world and the blood on his hands.

 

Boris Johnson said Tony Blair was an 'eel-like customer' and a 'very adept and agile lawyer'. Photograph: Philip Toscano/PA

Boris Johnson: 'eel-like' Tony Blair will avoid being imprisoned over Iraq war

London mayor expresses sympathy with those who want former PM locked up and says Chilcot report should be published now

Nicholas Watt, chief political correspondent

The Guardian, Tuesday 6 May 2014 / http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/may/06/boris-johnson-eel-like-tony-blair-iraq-war

People who believe Tony Blair should be imprisoned over the Iraq war have their hearts in the right place, Boris Johnson has said as he called for the immediate publication of the Chilcot report into the war.

Speaking on his LBC phone-in, he spoke of the "catastrophic consequences" of the Iraq invasion but described the former prime minister as an "eel-like customer" who would use his legal skills to avoid prosecution.

Johnson made clear he sympathised with a caller who thought Blair should be imprisoned. The London mayor said: "He is a very, very adept and agile lawyer. Our caller who thought he was going to be imprisoned for what he did in Iraq – his heart is in the right place. It's just not going to happen."

He declined to rule out standing for parliament at next year's general election, raising the prospect that he would hold two jobs as London mayor and MP from 2015 to 2016. Asked by LBC presenter Nick Ferrari to say no to "Boris two jobs Johnson", he said: "I am very proud of what we have achieved in London but there is a lot more to do."

Asked whether he would ever be prime minister,he said: "Of course not," adding: "The chance[s] of me being prime minister are about as big as the chances of me being locked in a disused fridge interred in a … what is it?"

He made clear he had doubts about the proposed Pfizer takeover of AstraZeneca saying he would be asking searching questions of the US pharmaceutical company if he were in office.

"Politicians can't be entirely aloof from this and it would be very important to establish that Pfizer is genuinely committed to R&D in this country and that it won't in any way damage what is the incredible success, particularly of London and the south-east, in dominating the European scene in life sciences and biotechnology. It would be a great shame if that were to be lost."

On the Iraq war, he admitted he had voted in favour of military action in 2003 though he said he thought at the time that Blair's claims about weapons of mass destruction (WMD) were "nonsense". But he said he thought Blair would avoid prosecution.

Johnson, who was part of a campaign in parliament in 2004 to impeach Blair, told LBC: "It would be hard to mount criminal charges. You would have to show some sort of malfeasance in public office, which would be very difficult to prove.

"There will undoubtedly be people who continue to try to bring Tony Blair to justice in one way or another. I think it unlikely they will succeed … In the case of Tony Blair it will be quite difficult to secure a conviction. He is a very eel-like customer. It would be very unlikely you would get him."

He said the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war should be published without delay on the grounds that it was more than 10 years since the "whole disaster" had begun. "Somebody like me, who basically had good faith about what the British government was telling us, thought there must be a plan to deal with the aftermath in Iraq.

"I just could not believe it as things unfolded in the way that they did. I feel guilty because I voted for the wretched thing … I would like to understand more deeply on what basis a prime minister who, at that time, commanded so much trust, was able to persuade parliament and the country and me to go for war in Iraq with absolutely catastrophic consequences."

On WMD he said: "The more I listened to the debate back in 2003 I started to think it probably was a load of nonsense."

He said he supported the invasion because any successor to Saddam Hussein would be better than the "evil monster".

"I am afraid I listened to the government and thought that must be right – the Pentagon, HMG – they must have thought this thing through.

"They must have a plan. That was a total, total error. It was quite clear that the agenda was very, very feebly thought through and it was a disaster."