MPs, celebrities for Blair impeachment

UK parliamentarians were ready with a motion on Wednesday demanding a debate on Prime Minister Tony Blair’s ‘‘gross misconduct’’ in leading Britain to war against Iraq. The impeachment motion, the first one to be tabled since the mid-19th century, has been signed by 23 MPs from various opposition parties.

However, even if a debate is granted, any attempt to accuse Blair of ‘‘high crimes and misdemeanours’’ is doomed to fail in the elected House of Commons, where his Labour party has a majority of more than 150 seats. Welsh nationalist MP Adam Price started the campaign to have Blair impeached, unveiling a 99-page report A Case to Answer’ that set out the legal case. Famous figures, including playwright Harold Pinter, novelists Ian Banks and Frederick Forsyth, and actor Corin Redgrave have supported the move . —Reuters