TO accuse a Government of taking its country to war on a false and illegal premise is a grave matter indeed.

And it is because Tony Blair is facing such a serious accusation that we believe it is right to make public the full legal advice given to his Government in the run up to the attack on Iraq.

Critics argue that a resignation letter from Foreign Office lawyer Elizabeth Wilmhurst points to Attorney General Lord Goldsmith changing his mind about the legality of the war at the last minute.

The underlying suggestion is that he was coerced into supporting the conflict.

It is a claim forcefully rejected by Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who insists Lord Goldsmith came to an independent view that a new United Nations resolution was not required to ensure the legality of the war.

Whatever the truth, there are questions to be answered about the Government's actions. They are questions of trust which go to the heart of the forthcoming General Election.

Mr Straw said yesterday that it would be "grave" for governments if attorney generals' advice had to be published.

We would argue that it should only ever be done in the most extreme cases. The debate over the legality of the Iraq war is such a case.

What would really be grave for this particular government would be any evidence that it bent the rules to justify its attack on another country.

The legal advice it received therefore needs to be placed under the public microscope.