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Iraq Inquiry

In opening the debate, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary set out the reasons why the Government’s view has not changed since we last debated the issue, not the least of which is that nothing has happened in that time that would require us to change our view. When we considered the issue in October last year, the motion was proposed by the nationalist parties—Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National party. I well understand the motivation of those political parties in that and all other matters involving the United Kingdom: they have a visceral dislike of all things British. They do not want to be part of this united country. They want to engender disharmony, disillusionment and division in all that we do as a nation. They are driven not by what is right for our armed forces in the difficult tasks that they face in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, but by cheap political posturing—no more than naked populism dressed up as principle. Although it is tempting, I would not ascribe such motives to the Conservative party. I fully accept that the role of Her Majesty’s loyal Opposition is to find grounds of substance on which to hold the Government to account. Like many of my hon. Friends, I spent too many years—10 years—on the Opposition Benches, and I know only too well the difficulties that that poses for party interest versus national interest. On this occasion, no matter how well argued the case—I pay tribute to the eloquence of the right hon. Member for Richmond, Yorks (Mr. Hague), who opened the debate—the Opposition have it wrong. A telling intervention by the hon. Member for Grantham and Stamford (Mr. Davies) made it clear that he thought so too. He made a specific point, and although the right hon. Member for Richmond, Yorks is not usually flummoxed or stumped, he paused momentarily before he dealt with the issue. This is always a question of judgment. To undertake such an inquiry now would divert effort and attention from our prime task, which is to improve the condition of Iraq and find a more peaceful and stable future for its people.