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Iraq inquiry prevented from publishing Blair's notes to Bush

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, Jan 19, IRNA -- The Iraq inquiry has expressed its disappointment at the refusal by the British government to allow the publication of “important” notes sent by former prime minister Tony Blair to former US president George W Bush.

“We sought disclosure of key extracts which illuminate prime minister Blair’s positions at critical points” at the lead-up to the 2003 war, said inquiry chair Sir John Chilcot.

But this is “one area where, I am sorry to say, it has not been possible to reach agreement with the government,” Chilcot said at the start of the third and expected final round of oral hearings Tuesday before the inquiry publishes its report later this year.

The non-disclosure of the notes, which were said to be of 'central importance' in establishing the circumstances that led to war, comes ahead of Blair being recalled for a second time to give evidence to the inquiry on Friday.

Chilcot said that the inquiry is “free to say what it thinks” in its report and that it will complete its task and make “our own independent judgements about the UK’s involvement in Iraq.”

Instead of the notes, the inquiry published a sharp exchange of letters with the Cabinet Office calling repeatedly for the documents to be declassified.

'The material requested provides important, and often unique, insights into Mr Blair's thinking and the commitments he made to President Bush, which are not reflected in other papers,' Chilcot said.

'The question when and how the prime minister made commitments to the US about the UK's involvement in military action in Iraq and subsequent decisions on the UK's continuing involvement, is central to its considerations', he said.

But the Cabinet Office insisted that the refusal to allow Blair's notes to be disclosed conformed to the inquiry's protocols that were put in place “to protect national security, international relations and the personal security of individuals.”

Last year, Blair’s communications chief Alistair Campbell told the inquiry that the tenor of Blair's notes to Bush included shared analysis and concerns to make sure that Saddam Hussein is faced up to his obligations and that Iraq is disarmed.

'If that cannot be done diplomatically and it is to be done militarily, Britain will be there,” Campbell said, giving credence to reports that the notes include Blair giving an early pledge in supporting the eventual war.