David Cameron
David Cameron says he favours a more open approach to Iraq inquiry
• Tory leader says he may alter terms of investigation
• Concern move could affect witness confidentiality
Patrick Wintour
guardian.co.uk, Monday 15 June 2009 21.25 BST
David Cameron disclosed today that an incoming Conservative government may change the basis of the long-awaited inquiry into the Iraq war, hours after Gordon Brown told MPs evidence would be heard entirely in secret.
Brown said the inquiry would not seek to apportion blame, and would not report for at least a year, ensuring a potentially embarrassing paper is not published until after the election.
Conservative sources said later that if he was elected, Cameron reserved the right to change the terms of the inquiry if they were proving too restrictive.
He called for some of the sessions to be held in public, and for the issue of blame to be addressed. Brown said he was following the precedent of the Franks inquiry into the Falklands war, and told MPs secrecy was necessary to ensure openness from witnesses, including serving officers.
Brown insisted he would be asking the inquiry to publish as much evidence as possible, consistent with national security, and said that no British document or witness would be beyond its scope.
Cameron's call for a more open inquiry, including evidence on UK-US relations in the run-up to the war, could also influence the amount of evidence published. Such uncertainty could cause problems, with some witnesses demanding assurances that none of their evidence be published.
Tony Blair has said he will happily give evidence, but it is not clear whether key figures in the US administration such as the former defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld or the former secretary of state Colin Powell will be asked to co-operate, especially over the degree to which Britain influenced US prewar thinking.
Senior cabinet members have already admitted that they failed to see the extent to which prewar planning would be taken over by the US defence department, setting aside the careful plans made by the US state department.
The inquiry will look at all events leading up to the war from the summer of 2001, including planning, intelligence, operations in Iraq, and British efforts at reconstruction, Brown told MPs.
The inquiry will be chaired by Sir John Chilcott, the former permanent secretary at the Northern Ireland Office, who was a member of the Butler inquiry into intelligence on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Other inquiry members are: Sir Roderic Lyne, the foreign affairs private secretary to John Major in 2003; Sir Martin Gilbert, a historian much favoured by Brown; and Sir Lawrence Freedman, who was credited with writing large parts of Tony Blair's speech in Chicago in 1999 making the case for liberal military intervention, and has described the Bush administration's conduct of the war as "dysfunctional". The final member is the crossbench peer and chair of the judicial appointments commission, Baroness Usha Prashar.
The Tories said they were disappointed Brown had rejected their suggestion that both former senior military figures and senior politicians sit on the inquiry.
There will be no legal obligation to participate, and no civil or criminal liability will arise as a result of giving evidence.
No 10 stressed it was eager to avoid a public inquiry on the disastrous model of the Saville inquiry into Bloody Sunday. The Saville inquiry has seen all participants represented by lawyers, leading to delays and vast expense.
No 10 was resigned in advance to criticism over the secrecy of the inquiry, but believed it was the best way to achieve serious conclusions. Brown vowed that the final report would reveal "all but the most secret of information" and would be "fully independent of government".
Nick Clegg, the Lib Dem leader, said: "A secret inquiry, conducted by a clutch of grandees hand picked by the prime minister, is not what Britain needs."
Cameron argued: "The inquiry needs to be seen to be truly independent and not just an establishment stitch-up. Shouldn't the inquiry have the ability to apportion blame? If mistakes were made, we need to know who made them and why they were made."
The former cabinet minister Clare Short said: "Brown's looking for announcements that will get back respect for him. He announces this, but says it will take a year. That's a bit cynical."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jun/15/iraq-war-inquiry-conservative-reaction
• Tory leader says he may alter terms of investigation
• Concern move could affect witness confidentiality
Patrick Wintour
guardian.co.uk, Monday 15 June 2009 21.25 BST
David Cameron disclosed today that an incoming Conservative government may change the basis of the long-awaited inquiry into the Iraq war, hours after Gordon Brown told MPs evidence would be heard entirely in secret.
Brown said the inquiry would not seek to apportion blame, and would not report for at least a year, ensuring a potentially embarrassing paper is not published until after the election.
Conservative sources said later that if he was elected, Cameron reserved the right to change the terms of the inquiry if they were proving too restrictive.
He called for some of the sessions to be held in public, and for the issue of blame to be addressed. Brown said he was following the precedent of the Franks inquiry into the Falklands war, and told MPs secrecy was necessary to ensure openness from witnesses, including serving officers.
Brown insisted he would be asking the inquiry to publish as much evidence as possible, consistent with national security, and said that no British document or witness would be beyond its scope.
Cameron's call for a more open inquiry, including evidence on UK-US relations in the run-up to the war, could also influence the amount of evidence published. Such uncertainty could cause problems, with some witnesses demanding assurances that none of their evidence be published.
Tony Blair has said he will happily give evidence, but it is not clear whether key figures in the US administration such as the former defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld or the former secretary of state Colin Powell will be asked to co-operate, especially over the degree to which Britain influenced US prewar thinking.
Senior cabinet members have already admitted that they failed to see the extent to which prewar planning would be taken over by the US defence department, setting aside the careful plans made by the US state department.
The inquiry will look at all events leading up to the war from the summer of 2001, including planning, intelligence, operations in Iraq, and British efforts at reconstruction, Brown told MPs.
The inquiry will be chaired by Sir John Chilcott, the former permanent secretary at the Northern Ireland Office, who was a member of the Butler inquiry into intelligence on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Other inquiry members are: Sir Roderic Lyne, the foreign affairs private secretary to John Major in 2003; Sir Martin Gilbert, a historian much favoured by Brown; and Sir Lawrence Freedman, who was credited with writing large parts of Tony Blair's speech in Chicago in 1999 making the case for liberal military intervention, and has described the Bush administration's conduct of the war as "dysfunctional". The final member is the crossbench peer and chair of the judicial appointments commission, Baroness Usha Prashar.
The Tories said they were disappointed Brown had rejected their suggestion that both former senior military figures and senior politicians sit on the inquiry.
There will be no legal obligation to participate, and no civil or criminal liability will arise as a result of giving evidence.
No 10 stressed it was eager to avoid a public inquiry on the disastrous model of the Saville inquiry into Bloody Sunday. The Saville inquiry has seen all participants represented by lawyers, leading to delays and vast expense.
No 10 was resigned in advance to criticism over the secrecy of the inquiry, but believed it was the best way to achieve serious conclusions. Brown vowed that the final report would reveal "all but the most secret of information" and would be "fully independent of government".
Nick Clegg, the Lib Dem leader, said: "A secret inquiry, conducted by a clutch of grandees hand picked by the prime minister, is not what Britain needs."
Cameron argued: "The inquiry needs to be seen to be truly independent and not just an establishment stitch-up. Shouldn't the inquiry have the ability to apportion blame? If mistakes were made, we need to know who made them and why they were made."
The former cabinet minister Clare Short said: "Brown's looking for announcements that will get back respect for him. He announces this, but says it will take a year. That's a bit cynical."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jun/15/iraq-war-inquiry-conservative-reaction
posted by Andrew Simon at 11:27 PM
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