Some of the families of British soldiers who died in Iraq will today start a bid to take Tony Blair to court, alleging he deceived the public in going to war.
Two days before the voter go to the polls in Britain's general election, the families this afternoon delivered a letter to Downing Street outlining the legal case they will bring against the Prime Minister.
"Some of the families are seriously concerned that their children died in circumstances where the war was illegal," Military Families against the War said in a statement.
Eight families who lost servicemen are backing the bid to take Mr Blair and the British government to court under the European Convention of Human Rights. They are also considering a private prosecution against Mr Blair.
The families said they decided to take action after reading pre-war advice from the attorney general which raised doubts over the invasion's legality.
"The loved ones of these families were brave and courageous individuals who entered the British Army in the belief that they should serve their country," the statement said. "Recent events suggest that their military orders were unlawful."
Mr Blair has insisted that the Attorney General Lord Goldsmith's support for the legality of the war without a second United Nations resolution was unequivocal.
Questions raised by his decision to back the United States over Iraq has dominated the election agenda over the past week. Yesterday, the wife of the latest soldier to be killed directly blamed Mr Blair for his death.
"It's Tony Blair's fault," the widow of British soldier Anthony Wakefield said of his death in a roadside bomb attack in southern Iraq. "He sent all those troops out. He shouldn't have done it."
Mr Wakefield's death took to 83 the number of British military deaths in the country since the March 2003 start of war.
PA