"But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy"—Downing Street Memo

This week we are joined by the lawyer and university lecturer Adeyinka Makinde for the first part of a fascinating two-part interview centring in his forthcoming academic paper: "Intelligence Accountability : Can the British State Convict Itself?" Focusing on the 2003 Iraq invasion, "extraordinary renditions" and the UK's counter-insurgency strategy in the early years of the Northern Ireland "Troubles", Makinde questions the relationship between morality and "national interest" goals, and probes international and domestic law to make a case for the criminal culpability of high-ranking officials of the British state.

In this first part, Adeyinka Makinde challenges the opinion held by some experts, such as Geoffrey Robertson, that Tony Blair is not eligible to be prosecuted at the International Criminal Court.

Adeyinka Makinde trained for the law as a barrister. He lectures in criminal law and public law at a university in London, and has an academic research interest in intelligence & security matters. He is a contributor to a number of websites for which he has written essays and commentaries on international relations, politics and military history. He has served as a programme consultant and provided expert commentary for BBC World Service Radio, China Radio International and the Voice of Russia. (For show notes please visit http://themindrenewed.com)