The families of British soldiers who died in Iraq launch a bid today to take Prime Minister Tony Blair to court over his "deception" in going to war.

Two days before the election, the families will deliver a letter to Downing Street outlining the legal case they will bring against the Prime Minister.

"Some of the families are seriously concerned that their children died in circumstances where the war was illegal," Military Families against the War said in a statement.

The families said they decided to take action after reading pre-war advice from the government's top lawyer, the Attorney General, which raised doubts over the invasion's legality.

"The loved ones of these families were brave and courageous individuals who entered the British Army in the belief that they should serve their country," the statement said.

"Recent events suggest that their military orders were unlawful."

Blair has insisted that the Attorney General Lord Goldsmith's support for the legality of the war without a second United Nations resolution was unequivocal.

The question of Blair's integrity and his decision to back the United States over Iraq has dominated the election agenda over the past week.

PHOTO CAPTION

Tony Blair at the Trust Centre in Gloucester, England May 3, 2005. (Reuters)