Gordon Brown forced to open Iraq inquiry to public scrutiny

[babylonsister]

Brown forced to open Iraq inquiry to public scrutiny

Senior military officers and peers welcome decision to hear evidence in public

By Andrew Grice and Kim Sengupta

Friday, 19 June 2009


Gordon Brown climbed down yesterday in the face of a growing revolt over his announcement that the inquiry into the Iraq war would be held in private.

Only three days after saying the investigation would be held behind closed doors, the Prime Minister disclosed that some hearings could take place in public after all. His retreat was revealed exclusively in The Independent yesterday.

In a letter to the inquiry chairman, Sir John Chilcot, Mr Brown asked him to consider holding some sessions in public. He urged Sir John to hold an open session to "explain in greater depth the significant scope and breadth of the inquiry" and to meet relatives of the servicemen killed in Iraq – either in public or in private – to explain how it would operate. He also asked him to take evidence on oath.

The U-turn came on a day in which the Government's original decision came under fierce attack. Lord Butler of Brockwell, the former cabinet secretary who investigated the intelligence about Iraqi weapons, said: "There is no prospect that an inquiry conducted entirely in private can purge the national feeling of mistrust.

"I reluctantly conclude that the form of the inquiry proposed by the Government has been dictated more by the Government's political interest than the national interest."

His searing criticism in a House of Lords debate was echoed by several other peers. And in a rare intervention in British politics, the former prime minister Sir John Major said: "The arrangements currently proposed run the risk of being viewed sceptically by some, and denounced as a whitewash by others. I am astonished the Government cannot understand this."

more...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brown-forced-to-open-iraq-inquiry-to-public-scrutiny-1708968.html

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. Tony Blair pushed Gordon Brown to hold Iraq war inquiry in private

Tony Blair urged Gordon Brown to hold the independent inquiry into the Iraq war in secret because he feared that he would be subjected to a "show trial" if it were opened to the public, the Observer can reveal.
...
Blair is believed to have been alarmed by the prospect that he might be asked to give evidence in public and under oath about the use of intelligence and about his numerous private discussions with US President George Bush at which the two leaders laid plans for war.
...
Brown provoked uproar in the Commons on Monday when he announced the inquiry's scope, membership and remit and, following a chorus of protests from military leaders and former mandarins including former cabinet secretary Lord Butler, announced a partial retreat on Thursday, when he asked the inquiry chairman, Sir John Chilcot, to consider opening a few sessions to the public.

But the move did nothing to reduce pressure for a total climbdown. Tonight, Brown appeared to be cornered as MPs of all parties prepared for a Commons debate on Wednesday in which they look certain to back calls for the inquiry to hold sessions in public "whenever possible".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jun/20/iraq-war-inquiry-brown-blair

[babylonsister]

2. Then hopefully Blair is shaking in his boots right about now. nt