Inquiry to be announced?
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Gordon Brown to announce Iraq War inquiry
Prime Minister Gordon Brown is poised to announce details of a long-awaited inquiry into the Iraq War and its consequences, The Sunday Telegraph has learned.
By Patrick Hennessy, Political Editor
Published: 9:30PM BST 06 Jun 2009
He could make the announcement within days as part of his “fightback” plan aimed at reasserting his political authority and appeasing his critics on Labour’s backbenches.
The government has previously been accused of dragging its feet over an inquiry, with ministers claiming that nothing could happen until after the withdrawal of all British combat troops from Iraq, which must take place by July 31.
MPs had been expecting the announcement of the inquiry in the autumn, possibly during Labour’s annual conference, but it is understood that Mr Brown’s political travails have seen timings brought forward.
The inquiry’s verdict – which could be potentially politically damaging for Tony Blair, Mr Brown and other senior Labour figures – would still almost certainly not be known until after the next general election, which must be held by early June 2010.
Ministers are thought to have concluded that the main focus should be the conduct of the 2003 war and the breakdown of law and order afterwards -although it would be bound to consider questions of the legality of the operation, which sparked a fierce political debate in Britain.
Earlier this year ministers dropped broad hints that the inquiry would be modelled on the Franks inquiry, which reported on the 1982 Falklands war, criticising Margaret Thatcher’s government for failing to make the islands a priority, but exonerated it of mistakes in the run up to the Argentinian invasion.
The Franks inquiry was conducted by six privy counsellors, senior politicians from across the parties, who had access to all relevant government papers. The inquiry would be likely to sit mainly in private – but could have some public sessions.
The Conservatives have been calling for a full inquiry into the conflict for years and have accused ministers of delaying tactics. Labour backbenchers, who staged an enormous rebellion in 2003 with 139 opposing the war, are certain to welcome an announcement.
The pressure for an inquiry has been intense because many people believe that the war was illegal under international law and that Tony Blair presented intelligence about weapons of mass destruction in order to justify the invasion, notably with the so-called “dodgy dossier” when information was allegedly “sexed up”.
The nature of the then-attorney general Lord Goldsmith’s advice to the Government over the legality of the 2003 invasion, and whether he succumbed to political pressure to change it, has also been a significant bone of contention.
Mr Blair has always insisted the 2003 invasion was legal. The main previous investigation into the war, conducted by Lord Butler in 2004, included criticism of the way some intelligence was interpreted by the government. However, it did not find that ministers intended to deceive the public, for example over pre-invasion claims that Saddam was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction, when none subsequently been found.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/
5462215/Gordon-Brown-to-announce-Iraq-War-inquiry.html
Gordon Brown to announce Iraq War inquiry
Prime Minister Gordon Brown is poised to announce details of a long-awaited inquiry into the Iraq War and its consequences, The Sunday Telegraph has learned.
By Patrick Hennessy, Political Editor
Published: 9:30PM BST 06 Jun 2009
He could make the announcement within days as part of his “fightback” plan aimed at reasserting his political authority and appeasing his critics on Labour’s backbenches.
The government has previously been accused of dragging its feet over an inquiry, with ministers claiming that nothing could happen until after the withdrawal of all British combat troops from Iraq, which must take place by July 31.
MPs had been expecting the announcement of the inquiry in the autumn, possibly during Labour’s annual conference, but it is understood that Mr Brown’s political travails have seen timings brought forward.
The inquiry’s verdict – which could be potentially politically damaging for Tony Blair, Mr Brown and other senior Labour figures – would still almost certainly not be known until after the next general election, which must be held by early June 2010.
Ministers are thought to have concluded that the main focus should be the conduct of the 2003 war and the breakdown of law and order afterwards -although it would be bound to consider questions of the legality of the operation, which sparked a fierce political debate in Britain.
Earlier this year ministers dropped broad hints that the inquiry would be modelled on the Franks inquiry, which reported on the 1982 Falklands war, criticising Margaret Thatcher’s government for failing to make the islands a priority, but exonerated it of mistakes in the run up to the Argentinian invasion.
The Franks inquiry was conducted by six privy counsellors, senior politicians from across the parties, who had access to all relevant government papers. The inquiry would be likely to sit mainly in private – but could have some public sessions.
The Conservatives have been calling for a full inquiry into the conflict for years and have accused ministers of delaying tactics. Labour backbenchers, who staged an enormous rebellion in 2003 with 139 opposing the war, are certain to welcome an announcement.
The pressure for an inquiry has been intense because many people believe that the war was illegal under international law and that Tony Blair presented intelligence about weapons of mass destruction in order to justify the invasion, notably with the so-called “dodgy dossier” when information was allegedly “sexed up”.
The nature of the then-attorney general Lord Goldsmith’s advice to the Government over the legality of the 2003 invasion, and whether he succumbed to political pressure to change it, has also been a significant bone of contention.
Mr Blair has always insisted the 2003 invasion was legal. The main previous investigation into the war, conducted by Lord Butler in 2004, included criticism of the way some intelligence was interpreted by the government. However, it did not find that ministers intended to deceive the public, for example over pre-invasion claims that Saddam was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction, when none subsequently been found.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/
5462215/Gordon-Brown-to-announce-Iraq-War-inquiry.html
posted by Andrew Simon at 10:45 AM
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