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Impeachment motion to be aired

Impeachment motion to be aired

An impeachment motion against the Prime Minister will be tabled in the Commons today.

A total of 25 MPs have reportedly signed a motion to impeach Tony Blair for allegedly misleading Parliament on the issue of weapons of mass destruction. in the build-up to war in Iraq.

The MPs are a cross-party group, mainly composed of Welsh and Scottish nationalists, with some Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.

Once the motion is presented, the Speaker Michael Martin will have to decide whether to allow a debate on the issue.

A debate on a similar motion is scheduled for Wednesday night in the Welsh Assembly for 1700 GMT.

Adam Price, Plaid Cymru MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, is leading calls for the impeachment of the premier for “gross misconduct” and “high crimes and misdemeanours” over the Iraq war.

Mr Price said: “Today we make a stand for parliamentary democracy.

“We ask our colleagues and the people to help us restore the accountability of the Government to Parliament.

“Those who support our initiative to impeach the Prime Minister are united in the belief that Tony Blair misled parliament and the people over the case for invading Iraq, regardless of whether they opposed or supported the war back in March 2003.”

The Liberal Democrats and Conservatives are unlikely to vote for the motion given its archaic and arguably anachronistic precedents.

Downing Street said Mr Blair has already been cleared by four separate inquiries of any wrongdoing.