A mum whose soldier son was killed in Iraq is backing a fundraising campaign to have Tony Blair prosecuted.
Rose Gentle has joined with other bereaved military families to back a crownfunding initiative aimed at dragging the former prime minister into the dock.
They say he acted illegally in sending UK troops to Iraq in 2003 – and claim they have been backed by the findings of the recent Chilcot report into the conflict.
Helping to launch the fund, Rose, from Pollok in Glasgow, said: "Blair will be remembered not as a prime minister, but as a person who sent soldiers on an illegal war. I would love to see him in court.”
Blair will be remembered not as a prime minister, but as a person who sent soldiers on an illegal war. I would love to see him in court - Rose Gentle
Her son fusilier son Gordon, aged 19, died when a roadside bomb destroyed his vehicle in 2004 near Basra.
The crowdfunding project, organised by the Iraq War Families Campaign Group, aims to raise £150,000 to raise a legal action against Blair.
Families are pursuing a civil case because the International Criminal Court has refused to take action, the UK authorities will not bring a criminal prosecution, and a bid by MPs to name-and-shame Mr Blair will not result in convictions.
Roger Bacon, whose son Major Matthew Bacon, 34, died when a bomb exploded beside his vehicle near Basra in 2005, said: “Our determination to find answers has been redoubled by Sir John’s excoriating view of the establishment’s tragic and error-strewn display.”
Reg Keys, whose son Lance Corporal Thomas Keys, 20, was killed in 2003, said: “The public support the families have received over the years has been unstinting.
“We hope and trust the British people will take this opportunity to help us determine what legal actions can be taken and support the campaign to get justice for our loved ones and our country.”
Matthew Jury, of McCue & Partners, which is representing the families, said: “The report told us what went wrong and who was responsible but it was not a court of law. This is the only chance for justice.”
Support the campaign or donate.
