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Deal reached on release of 'gist' of Blair-Bush Iraq talks Deal reached on release of 'gist' of Blair-Bush Iraq talks
(35 minutes later)
Details of the "gist" of talks before the Iraq war between Tony Blair and George Bush are to be published, the UK's Chilcot inquiry says. Details of the "gist" of talks between Tony Blair and George Bush ahead of the Iraq war are to be published, the UK's Chilcot inquiry says.
Britain's top civil servant Sir Jeremy Heywood has agreed the principles of handing over extracts and quotes. But transcripts and full notes of conversations will remain secret at the request of the government.
However, the full documents or transcripts of talks will not be released. The agreement between the inquiry and Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood could clear the way for the report to be published later this year.
The report is thought to have been delayed by protracted wrangling over what could be published. It is thought to have been delayed by wrangling over what could be released.
In a letter, inquiry chairman Sir John Chilcot said "detailed consideration" of what to release was taking place. The inquiry has been given access to full records of talks between the two leaders in the run-up to war but is being prevented by the government from publishing them in its final report, even after offering to block-out sensitive parts
He says it has reached agreement on the "principles that will underpin disclosure" of communications between former US President George Bush and former Prime Minister Tony Blair. The UK government's grounds for refusing the request to publish the full documents and transcripts is that it could prejudice future relations between the two countries.
The documents include 25 notes from Mr Blair to Mr Bush and more than 130 records of conversations between them in the run-up to war. The inquiry has instead been granted permission to "disclose quotes or gists of the content" to help explain its conclusions, inquiry chairman Sir John Chilcot explained in a letter to Sir Jeremy.
There is no report publication date. The documents include 25 notes from Mr Blair to Mr Bush and more than 130 records of conversations between the former prime minister and then US president in the run-up to war.
In his letter, Sir John said "detailed consideration" of what to release was taking place.
"Considerations will be based on the principle that use of this material should not reflect President Bush's views. We have also agreed that the use of direct quotation from the documents should be the minimum necessary to enable the inquiry to articulate its conclusions," he writes.
Sir John says the inquiry has reached agreement on the "principles that will underpin disclosure" of communications between former US President George Bush and former Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The inquiry, which is examining the UK's participation in military action against Saddam Hussein and its aftermath, began in 2009 and its last public hearings took place in 2011. It has cost more than £7m so far.
Although the inquiry team, led by Sir John Chilcot, has never set a target date or deadline for publication, it is generally accepted that the timetable for publication has slipped on several occasions.
Before publication can happen, letters must be sent out to individuals facing criticism in the report, under what is known as the "Maxwellisation" process, to give them an opportunity to respond.
The 2003 invasion of Iraq by British and US forces, on the pretext that it had "weapons of mass destruction" has already been the subject of several inquiries in the UK, including the Butler report into intelligence failings.
'Critical'
Tony Blair has said he wants the Chilcot report to be published as soon as possible and said this week he "resented" claims he was to blame for its slow progress.
There are concerns the report will not be released before the 2015 election.
But the ex-Labour prime minister said he was not blocking any documents and publication would allow him "restate" the case for the 2003 invasion.
"It is certainly not me who is holding it up," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"The sooner it is published the better, from my perspective, as it allows me to make the arguments."
David Cameron has said he hopes the report will be released before the end of the year.
Mr Blair, who appeared in person twice before the inquiry to justify his decision to take the UK to war, said he had an interest in the report being published as quickly as possible.
The inquiry got agreement earlier this year on the release of more than 200 Cabinet and Cabinet committee meetings, which would not normally be published until 30 years after the events, if at all.
A small number of full extracts from the minutes of Cabinet meetings judged by the inquiry to be "most critical" will be published alongside its final report.
'Sensitive issues'
A Cabinet Office spokesman said: "The government is pleased that agreement on a way forward on both Cabinet papers and UK/US exchanges has now been reached with the Inquiry.
"This allows for the declassification and publication of the material the Inquiry believes it needs to explain its conclusions.
"Resolving this issue has taken longer than originally hoped but these are sensitive issues.
"The UK/US Head of Government channel is very important and must be handled sensitively.
"The government and the Inquiry are working to ensure the Inquiry's report is published as soon as possible and the government is doing everything it can to facilitate that."