The prosecution bid was put forward by General Abdul Wahed Shannan Al Rabbat, a former chief of staff of the Iraqi army, who had accused Tony Blair of committing a "crime of aggression" by invading Iraq in 2003 to oust Saddam Hussein, and has since called for the former prime minister, as well as former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and Attorney General Lord Goldsmith to be prosecuted.
"In our opinion there is no prospect of the Supreme Court holding that the decision in Jones [UK upper house of parliament’s case from 2006 on invasion in Iraq] was wrong or the reasoning no longer applicable … Having formed the view that there is no prospect of the Supreme Court overturning the decision in Jones, it is our duty to refuse permission to bring the proceedings for judicial review," the High Court said in statement.
Britain invaded Iraq in 2003 as a member of a coalition led by the US. Then-US President George Bush and then-UK Prime Minister Tony Blair accused Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein of having weapons of mass destruction — however, these claims have never been proven.
The 2 million-word Chilcot Inquiry was released in July 2016 after six years of deliberations. In a report, it was revealed that the UK government under Blair's leadership made a mistake invading Iraq, as the decision to join the war was made on the basis of flawed intelligence data and assessments.
The war in Iraq cost London approximately £9.6 billion and is believed to be one of the reasons for the ongoing conflict in the Middle Eastern country with Daesh's participation.
