-
Tony Blair - Source: Reuters
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair will be called to testify to a
panel investigating Britain's involvement in the Iraq war, the head
of the inquiry said, promising a thorough and independent
probe.
Former civil servant John Chilcot said the inquiry, ordered by
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, would look at the run-up to the 2003
US-led invasion, the war and its aftermath.
The five-member panel, which also includes eminent historian Martin
Gilbert, will examine the decisions taken by the British government
and look at the legality of the war.
Chilcot said the witnesses would include Blair and "other senior
figures involved in decision-taking" although he would not say if
Brown, who took over from Blair as prime minister two years ago,
would be called to testify.
Asked how the inquiry would avoid suspicions it was a "whitewash",
Chilcot said the panel would do the job "as thoroughly, as fairly,
as independently as we can".
He said the inquiry could single out officials for blame.
"If we find that people fell short in their duty, made mistakes
(or) acted wrongly, we shall most certainly say so and say so
clearly," he told a news conference.
A spokesman for Blair said he would cooperate fully with whatever
format Chilcot set for the inquiry.
Chilcot said the inquiry would last until late next year, at the
earliest. That means that its conclusions, which could be
politically damaging to the Labour government, will not be
published before a national election due by next June.
But Brown runs the risk that the panel's hearings, some of which
will be in public, could embarrass the government in an election
year.
Opposition criticism
The opposition Conservatives' foreign policy spokesman William
Hague welcomed Chilcot's commitment to hold open sessions and
apportion blame. But he said the panel was narrow and lacking in
cabinet or military experience.
Chilcot said his panel may ask any British citizen to appear and
inspect any document held by the British government, including US
documents. He expected the panel to visit Iraq.
Chilcot said he wanted to talk to people in the United States and
elsewhere. Asked if the panel might talk to former Spanish Prime
Minister Jose Maria Aznar, who also sent troops to Iraq, he did not
rule out discussions with "key international figures" in the US-led
coalition.
But he said the panel could not compel people to appear and
witnesses would not testify under oath.
Blair's decision to send 45,000 British forces to take part in the
invasion to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has always been
controversial because of the lack of a United Nations resolution
authorising military action.
It provoked massive anti-war protests in London and led to the
resignations of ministers.
The number of deaths of British soldiers totalled 179 during the
conflict.
A British government dossier justifying the war contained the claim
that Saddam was capable of launching weapons of mass destruction
within 45 minutes. No such weapons were found.
The Labour government resisted opposition pressure to hold an
inquiry into the war while British troops were in Iraq, but most
have now left.
Brown said initially the hearings would be held in private, citing
national security concerns. But after a public outcry and after
Chilcot threw his support behind largely open hearings, part of the
proceedings will now be held in public.
Chilcot said some hearings could be televised or streamed live on
the Internet.
