header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
21 July 2016 / Dr Jon Robins
Issue: 7708 / Categories: Opinion
printer mail-detail

In contempt

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.

Chilcot delivered a scathing review of the actions of Tony Blair & his government, but what happens next, asks Jon Robins

“Will Tony Blair end up in the Hague? Will he have to share a cell with Slobodan Milosevic? Do you think his wife might take the case?”, quipped comedian Mark Thomas in January 2003 to the lawyer Phil Shiner. The unlikely pair had just been to Number 10 to hand-deliver a “letter before action” on Tony Blair warning the then prime minister he could be prosecuted for war crimes.

Unstoppable rush to war

At the time I was reporting on a growing transatlantic movement of lawyers trying to halt what seemed to be an unstoppable rush to war. In the US the leading human rights lawyer Michael Ratner had secured the signatures of 100 leading law professors in one day to support his letter to George Bush warning of the legal ramifications of military action.

“To many people in the world this is an unwarranted war,” Ratner told me. The lawyer, who went on to challenge detention without trial at Guantanamo (and represent Julian Assange and

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Private wealth and tax team welcomes cross-border specialist as consultant

Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias

Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias

International hospitality and leisure specialist joins corporate team as partner

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

Firm appoints head of intellectual property to drive northern growth

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: No such thing as a ‘Welsh seat’
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
NLJ this week: Jury reform risks justice for efficiency’s sake
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
NLJ this week: Crypto fightback offers ‘new frontier for law’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
NLJ this week: Time to revive the duty to report crime?
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
NLJ this week: When are experts truly ‘necessary’?
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll