PM Brown announces secret Iraq inquiry “fully independent of government.”

Prime Minister Gordon Brown yesterday (15 June) announced that there will be a year-long inquiry into the Iraq War – considering events from the summer of 2001 until the end of July this year.

Leading the inquiry will be Sir John Chilcot, 70, who, amongst many roles, is the Chairman of B&CE Group and Chairman of the Police Federation. Mr Chilcot was also involved in the Butler inquiry, one of two previous inquiries looking into the Iraq war. The remainder of the committee will be made up of Baroness Usha Prashar, Sir Roderick Lyne, Sir Lawrence Freedman and Sir Martin Gilbert.

Giving the statement in the House of Commons, Mr Brown said the Iraq inquiry will look at events running up to the conflict, the actual conflict and the reconstruction, in order to ensure lessons can be learnt from every stage.  He stressed that it will be fully independent of government.

The Franks Inquiry, which considered events in the run up to the Falklands conflict, will be used as a precedent. This inquiry was held entirely in secret, and took into account national security considerations, and the PM believes that only by keeping the inquiry secret “[will] evidence from serving and former ministers, military officers and officials be as full and candid as possible.”

The opposition parties, however, are calling for the inquiry to be held in public. Nick Clegg, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, argued “the Government should not be allowed to close the book on the Iraq war as it opened – in secrecy.”

Mr Clegg went on to say: “The Prime Minister must listen to what the grieving families need.”

Mr Brown responded with momentum: “The inquiry will have the authority to call any witness, any evidence and the report will be debated in parliament.

“A public enquiry does not allow for the confidentiality that a secret enquiry does and takes much longer” as evidenced by the ‘Bloody Sunday’ inquiry (into the events of 30 January 1972 in Londonderry), which took seven years because all witnesses involved requested a lawyer to be present in case of any backlash.

“For people to speak frankly, it is vital the inquiry is held in secret.”

The inquiry will also take into account evidence submitted to previous inquiries. Mr Brown said “No inquiry has looked at such a long period. No inquiry has the powers to look in so much breadth”.

As such, the PM went on to say that “the final report of the inquiry will be able to disclose all by the most sensitive information, that is, all information except that which is essential to our national security.”