HL Deb 19 November 2003 vol 654 c330WA
Lord Lester of Herne Hill

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answers by the Attorney- General on 6 November (WA 128–129), what is the justification in terms of the public interest in publishing a summary of the Attorney-General's view of the legal basis for the use of force against Iraq while withholding from public disclosure the detailed consideration of the legal issues upon which that view was based. [HL5481]

Baroness Amos

By long-standing convention, observed by successive governments, the fact of and substance of the Law Officers' advice is not disclosed outside government. The convention is referred to in paragraph 24 of the Ministerial Code. This enables the Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence, as everyone else can. Consistent with this convention, the Attorney-General's advice relating to the proposed military action against Iraq has not been disclosed. However, in view of the high-level of public interest in the proposed military action, the Attorney-General, exceptionally, made a Written Statement in Parliament on 17 March 2003 setting out his view of the legal basis for the use of force against Iraq.