Chilcot evidence must be released now, insist Lib Dems
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Version 0 of 1. The Liberal Democrats have broken ranks with the other main parties to call for evidence submitted to the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war to be published immediately. In a move that threatens to make the Iraq invasion an election issue, the party’s foreign affairs spokesman, Tim Farron, said new delays in the long-awaited publication of the inquiry’s report may lead to fear of a “stitch-up”. The move will be seen in some circles as a calculated attempt by the Lib Dems to embarrass the Tories and Labour, who supported the invasion. It also taps into widespread frustration the report has been repeatedly delayed. It emerged last week that publication may now be delayed until next year while those who are facing criticism, including Tony Blair, his foreign secretary, Jack Straw, and the then head of MI6, Sir Richard Dearlove, are given the chance to respond. The inquiry, which has so far cost more than £9m, is headed by former Whitehall mandarin Sir John Chilcot, who has had access to more than 150,000 government documents and seen 129 witnesses. Publication of its report was previously delayed because of a dispute between Chilcot and successive cabinet secretaries – Sir Gus O’Donnell, and Sir Jeremy Heywood – over which secret documents could be revealed, including notes from Blair to former US president George W Bush and records of conversations between the two men. In January Chilcot announced that 29 of Blair’s notes to Bush had been cleared for publication, as well as extracts of 130 records of conversations between the two leaders and records from up to 200 cabinet-level discussions. Chilcot also plans to release documents that reveal which ministers and officials were excluded from discussions on military action. Farron said that as much as possible of the material that has already been approved for release should now be published. Chilcot has previously said that he will not publish any further evidence in advance of the report. “There is a danger that the pattern of delay looks like an establishment stitch-up,” said Farron. “We are at the point where what can be published should be published. I am therefore calling on Sir John Chilcot to publish all the evidence considered by the inquiry immediately, including the Blair-Bush memos. Agreement has already been reached in principle to publish the memos at the time that the inquiry reports, so there should be no obstacle to doing so now. The public shouldn’t be kept waiting and should not have to suffer while legal arguments rage on in secret for God knows how long. Releasing the documents would allow people to make up their own minds.” |