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LONDON, June 3: A powerful British parliamentary committee on Tuesday decided to probe the government’s decision to invade Iraq, amid claims that intelligence reports on weapons of mass destruction were embellished to justify the conflict.
The decision by the House of Commons Foreign Affairs committee comes amid growing demands from deputies for an independent investigation into claims that Prime Minister Tony Blair’s office exaggerated intelligence in order to ensure that Britain went to war.
Mr Blair insisted during a G8 summit in France that allegations he misled Britain over the immediate risk posed by Saddam Hussein’s regime are false.
Blair and US President George Bush ousted the Iraqi leader on the grounds that his weapons posed a serious threat, but no chemical, biological or nuclear arms have been found, prompting claims they hyped up intelligence to justify war.
Mr Blair has angrily denied the allegations and said no independent inquiry was necessary. But his spokesman said the Joint Intelligence and Security Committee, a parliamentary committee that reports directly to Blair, may probe the case.
The UK inquiry would follow a similar move in Washington where the Senate is planning hearings on the motives for war.
The issue of Iraq’s weapons has come back to haunt Blair, who risked his premiership by defying public opinion over the war but appeared to emerge unscathed after Saddam’s swift fall.
“In trying to make the case for war, Tony Blair stretched his credibility to the limit and has potentially done serious harm to his own standing and public trust in government,” said Charles Kennedy, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrats.
While it could take some heat off Blair, the inquiry may not silence his harshest critics, many within his own Labour Party. Many of the committee’s previous reports have been filled with blanks where material deemed sensitive has been edited out.
PARLIAMENT PREPARES FOR IRAQ DEBATE: Talk of the inquiry comes as parliament gears up for a mammoth day of talks on Iraq and its weapons on Wednesday.
After a week of globetrotting, Mr Blair will have to field questions at his weekly prime minister’s question time. And Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has cut short a NATO meeting in Madrid to respond to an opposition debate on Iraq.
Two of Mr Blair’s former ministers, both of whom resigned over Iraq, have accused him of duping the public and committing a “monumental blunder” by going to war.
Already widespread cynicism over UK-US motives for war was fuelled by a BBC report quoting an intelligence source as saying Blair’s Downing Street office made a report “sexier” by adding that Iraq could deploy weapons at 45 minutes’ notice.
Bearing in mind how he survived the pre-war crisis, analysts say Blair is unlikely to face a critical challenge to his power base over the issue.—Reuters
