Iraq inquiry: focus turns to the MoD and a special envoy
Hard to say exactly what today’s highlight will be as we’ll be hearing consecutively from three different witnesses. Sir Kevin Tebbit returns for a brief spin to round off evidence about his period as...
View ArticleIraq inquiry: has an industry been born?
“What on earth are you going to do,” Sir Roderic boomed at a member of the Chilcot support team this morning, “now this is nearly over?” “Not sure,” came the reply, “I was thinking maybe the...
View ArticleIraq inquiry: Sir Kevin's choice of words cuts through
Interesting morning. On the face of it little of Sir Kevin Tebbit’s evidence was new. We had already heard from a bevy of defence secretaries and the Treasury’s top civil servant about the Whitehall...
View ArticleIraq inquiry: questions for Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown becomes the highest-ranking witness to appear before the Iraq Inquiry tomorrow. Although as some commentators have observed he may on the face of it have less to answer for than his...
View ArticleChilcot's last stand – before his inquiry goes quiet
A landmark day, and not just because we’re going to be hearing from 0900 from Foreign Secretary David Miliband and then the MoD’s top civil servant Bill Jeffrey. Once they’re done the Inquiry will be...
View ArticleWhat we've learned so far from the Iraq Inquiry
“There’s a wonderful phrase: ‘the Fog of War.’ What the fog of war means is: war is so complex it’s beyond the ability of the human mind to comprehend all the variables. Our judgment, our...
View ArticleDeclassified documents on legality of war
A fascinating haul of classified documents released yesterday shed new light on the legal shenanigans in the run-up to the Iraq war. Among them, we see the former attorney general, Lord Goldsmith,...
View ArticleGeneral Dannatt: army had ‘no desire’ for Iraq war
Chief correspondent Alex Thomson blogs from the Iraq Inquiry. General Sir Richard Dannatt came before the Chilcot folk with their gentle, leisurely questioning of various people involved in what...
View ArticleTony Blair returns to the Iraq Inquiry
He’s back. Almost exactly one year after his first appearance, Tony Blair returns to the QEII conference centre this morning to face renewed questioning by Sir John Chilcot and the Iraq Inquiry panel....
View ArticleIraq and Tony Blair – the gift of hindsight
As I write the stenographers and checkers are still grappling with the transcript of today’s marathon session (which, when completed, will appear here). But surely one of the most-repeated words both...
View ArticleChilcot inquiry: Whitehall mutterings and political blame game
Tim Farron, in one of his first high profile outings as Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesman for the election, has been laying into senior figures from the Labour government for “using the process … to...
View ArticleSir John Chilcot quizzed by MPs over Iraq report
Sir John Chilcot tells MPs on the foreign affairs committee his inquiry’s report into the Iraq war will be published as soon as possible, but not before the election.
View ArticleWill the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war ever be published?
So today MPs finally debate the non-appearance of the Chilcot report into Britain’s involvement in the Iraq war, 1,463 days since it last took evidence. Even in the time that has elapsed since it was...
View ArticleWhitehall took 13 months over Bush/Blair letters
If Sir Jeremy Heywood had taken one month to decide that the Bush/Blair exchanges could be published by the Chilcot team we would have the Iraq report by now. As it is, Sir John Chilcot revealed to...
View ArticleTony Blair, the election and the brand
Who wrote this on the 2008 banking crisis? “The ‘market’ did not fail. One part of one sector did …. funnily enough (or perhaps predictably enough), the puiblic has got this more than many politicians...
View ArticleChilcot Iraq report may be delayed until May 2016
There’s an update from the Iraq Inquiry but you may feel it doesn’t shed much light – Sir John Chilcot’s letter to the PM is here . I understand around 40 people are part of the Maxwellisation process...
View ArticleChilcot Iraq war report: a timetable for a timetable
Sir John Chilcot has repeated that he will publish a timetable for his report … but not just yet. In a statement on the inquiry website the retired civil servant says he expects the last of the...
View ArticleLabour leadership hustings: the key moments
Immigration All four candidates said more action is needed to tackle the unfolding migration crisis at Europe’s borders. Mr Burnham said: “As this crisis unfolds you cannot let Greece particularly...
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