Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Garden (Liberal Democrat). It was answered on Tuesday, 17 April 2007.

Iraq: HMS ““Cornwall?

Question: My Lords, I am grateful for the Minister’s assurance to the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Craig, that the terms of reference for the board of inquiry will be made available. That is very important. Have they been written already and thus will they be available later today? If not, when does the six-week period start from? Does it start from yesterday, from when the terms of reference are written or from when the inquiry is put together? Six weeks is a very short time for what will obviously be a wide-ranging and complex inquiry.

Answer: My Lords, my understanding is that the six weeks started yesterday. It is a short period. An inquiry, as opposed to a board of inquiry, was launched so that the process could happen more quickly. That is a response to the very important issue with which we are dealing here and I think that it reflects the Government’s commitment to get to the bottom of the cause as quickly as possible and to put in place whatever measures are necessary to ensure that it does not happen again.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 691 c119
Session: 2006-07
Oral question type: Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Lords chamber
Subjects: Disclosure of information Detainees Defence equipment Inquiries Iraq Peacekeeping operations Navy Valuation Territorial waters Seized articles Iran HMS Cornwall
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk