Ex-Army chief slams Iraq probe plan

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General Sir Mike Jackson, the then Chief of the General Staff, told The Independent that he would have "no problem at all" in giving his evidence in public.

Holding all the hearings in private would, he said, simply feed the current climate of "suspicion and scepticism" about government.

He said that it should have been possible to have a "halfway house" arrangement in which most of the proceedings were conducted in public while those relating to secret intelligence were held in private.

"They say they are modelling this on the Franks inquiry into the Falklands War. Well, that was 30 years ago in a very different world," he said.

"The main problem with a secret inquiry in the current climate of suspicion and scepticism about government is that people would think there is something to hide. And public perception at the moment is terribly important."

He urged the PM to reconsider whether the inquiry should be given the power to subpoena witnesses and take evidence on oath.

"We are told that having a private inquiry will make people more candid. But none of the evidence will be given under oath and also the inquiry has no power of subpoena. These are things that should be looked at," he said.