Menzies Campbell

The attorney general should publish the full text of his advice on the Iraq war, the Liberal Democrats have said.

Foreign affairs spokesman Menzies Campbell used a speech at the party's Brighton conference on Wednesday to demand the government proves that its legal basis for going to war was sound.

"There is still no credible answer to the central question of whether we went to war on a flawed prospectus because of inadequate intelligence or the mishandling of intelligence once obtained," he said.

"I wish that Lord Hutton's remit had been to answer that question.

"But even on his limited mandate we have seen how defective was the dossier of last September, how unreliable were the claims of government and how inadequate was the treatment of Dr Kelly."

Revelations from the Hutton inquiry led him to question whether the attorney general's conclusions were based on inadequate intelligence or intelligence that was mishandled once it was obtained.

Campbell demanded to see the full text of the attorney general's opinion and questioned whether the attorney general's recommendation was based on the September 24 dossier.

"Did he do so knowing the weapons were battlefield weapons and did not constitute a direct threat to the UK? Did he know that intelligence was based on hearsay?" he asked.

The issue of Iraq dominated the Lib Dem conference last year and since then the party has continuously challenged the government.

"I think our scepticism was entirely justified," he said.

Campbell was unsurprised that the war and subsequent Hutton inquiry have had an impact on the government's standing with the public.

"If you remember, John Major had to live through the Scott inquiry into whether or not parliament had been told on the change in policy. I don't think the result determined the election.it underlined the issue of trust," he said.

Foreign policy is rarely a big issue for the electorate but the current run of revelations affect "the credibility, the style, the smell of the government" with no immediate end in sight Campbell claimed.

"There is no exit strategy, nor could there be because of the situation we find ourselves in," he said.

Despite being a vocal opponent of the war, Campbell did not advocate walking away from the problems in Iraq.

"Anyone who says withdraw will have to think again. It would not make Basra safer. And it would create a vacuum," he warned.

Despite his criticisms he did say there is cause for optimism that a deal can be reached over UN involvement in Iraq,

Campbell urged Tony Blair to use his influence with the Bush administration.

"Schroeder wants to come in from the cold. Britain is in the chair of the [UN] Security Council. There's an opportunity to drive the agenda," he said.

"But for that Blair would have to go to Bush and say the only way you're going to square this is by following the instincts of Colin Powell and not Donald Rumsfeld."