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No. 10 plea to keep Iraq dossier secret is overruled
Nicholas Cecil, Chief Political Correspondent04.09.08
Ministers face having to release more details over the "sexed up" dossier which made the case for the invasion of Iraq.
The Information Commissioner Richard Thomas has rejected the Government's argument that publishing comments made about drafts of the dossier could jeopardise national security.
The Hutton inquiry into the death of scientist Dr David Kelly heard how former No10 spin chief Alastair Campbell put forward 11 changes to the document on Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).
But the Information Commissioner now says there is a public interest in revealing proposed alterations to the dossier made by politicians and other Downing Street officials between September 11 and 16 in 2002.
"Having considered the information which was withheld by the Cabinet Office, the commissioner is not satisfied that all of the comments on the draft dossier constituted information which engages the section 24 exemption (relating to national security)," Mr Thomas' office said in a 20-page ruling in response to a three-year campaign by journalist Chris Ames to obtain more memos and e-mails linked to the report.
The dossier, which included the claim that the Iraqi dictator could launch WMDs within 45 minutes, sparked a huge row between the BBC and the Government over claims that it had been "sexed up".
Dr Kelly, a biological weapons expert, committed suicide in July 2003 after being named as a source of a BBC story about the document. He was questioned by the Commons foreign affairs select committee over his role.
Mr Ames said: "The commissioner has laid bare the Government's farcical cover-up, which included shamelessly playing the national security card.
"He has also given a strong hint that the Government has concealed evidence of sexing-up to save political embarrassment."
Reader views (4)
No wonder, then, to discover yesterday that Blair has a 'casually' armed personal guard, albeit suspect and ineptly casual about her alertness.
Plotters like associates of the recently detained 'Blackburn four' [and that may well yet prove to include the quietly ambitious Jack Straw] will be extremely interested in this public 'security' revelation, and the 'bodyguards' slipshod modus operandi.
Particularly with both Blair and Brown [and perhaps others that we don't yet know about] in their sights.
- Dave, Grange-Over-Sands
We have maintained since the very outset that there was a connection between the decision to join the US invasion and the long-term inter-related interests of the British PM and the US President as discussed at Camp David in the spring of 2002. Now that one has left office and the other is about to regain control of his greatly enhanced Texan oil interests the outcome is there for all to see. The previous writer is quite right in suggesting that Court is the proper place to reveal all that went on.
- The Essex Boys, UK
Fraser is right. Spin and lies, just to get Tony Blair his big war and let him be "best friends" with a right-wing, neo-Con President (arguably the worst President the US has had) followed by cover-up and dodgy enquiries to get him off the hook.
I remember Tony Blair saying to a TV audience (who had expressed alarm about invading Iraq without a specific UN mandate) that he promised not to take Britain to war in Iraq without getting a second resolution from the UN. He broke his promise.
- Tyler, Derby, UK
If New Labour altered ANY of the information contained in the "original documents" in order to favour going to war with Iraq (which has led to immense collateral damage) then I believe that ALL those responsible - including the then Prime Minister - should be held to account in Court charged with War Crimes etc.
There have simply been too many unnecessary deaths as a direct result of Britain's participation in this apparent "illegal war"!
I don't believe that anyone disputes the fact that Saddam was evil but let's not forget how he got to power in the first place!
- Fraser, Telford Park
