Well, that did not take long:
The Prime Minister has opened the door for parts of the independent Iraq war inquiry to be held in public.
In a letter to inquiry head Sir John Chilcot, the Prime Minister said it would be possible for evidence from families of those killed in the war to give evidence in public if they wished.
But he also said that once Sir John had met other political leaders it would "helpful if you could set out how you and your colleagues think these objectives can best be met in the way that the inquiry is conducted."
The Prime Minister's spokesman added: "The question of whether the inquiry is held in public or not has never been an issue of any great theology to us.
"The Prime Minister is clear in this case there should not be an inquiry that goes on for years with all the lawyers and bureaucracy involved. But it will be up to Sir John Chilcot to consider how the precise format of the inquiry should be conducted to meet the objectives of getting to the truth.
And no doubt when Chilcot has met the other party leaders there will further ‘modifications’ to the way the inquiry is conducted. Still, it would be good have the questions I posed below answered.
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I heard this independently from err...someone in Westminster...also, it appears that it isn't only the generals etc asking serious questions and I suspect Brown would struggle to get the original proposal through next week.
ReplyDeleteThis is a chance for a Brown legacy and he should grab it with both hands.