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Iraq

My Lords, we are addressing a very difficult and important issue today. At the outset, in answer to the noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde, I must say that we have not been covering up the truth. We have said that we would undertake an inquiry, or ensure that an inquiry was undertaken, as soon as appropriate—and we always felt that it would be appropriate when our troops left Iraq. Our troops are leaving Iraq in July, when the inquiry will begin its work. The inquiry will have a very wide remit. The noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde, mentioned previous inquiries. All evidence that was before previous inquiries will go before the committee. All issues relating to diplomatic exchanges and international commitments, as well as the failure of the UN, a subject that has not been addressed by past inquiries, will be before the committee and will be very widely probed. In relation to senior politicians, the committee will be able to call before it any senior politician, any civil servant and any member of the Armed Forces. That is why it is along the lines of the Franks inquiry and why it is meeting in private—so these people have the confidence to give sensitive information. However, the Prime Minister is consulting the Cabinet Secretary on whether some parts of the hearings can be held in public. I was asked whether the inquiry would identify and punish individuals who made mistakes. The object of the inquiry is to identify lessons learnt that we can apply in other conflict and post-conflict solutions. We are not looking to lay blame or expose individuals to legal challenge. The noble Lord, Lord Wallace, asked why no senior political figure was on the committee. The members of the committee that I named have great experience working closely with government, and I have every confidence that they will do an excellent job. Both noble Lords asked about the timing of the inquiry. We would all like to have the committee report back as soon as possible, but these are complex issues. Everybody in this House would agree that we want a thorough report. The advice from the Cabinet Secretary was that, with such a remit in terms of reference, a year would be appropriate. This is not kicking the matter into the long grass. The Franks committee dealt with a very short timescale, but it had a restricted remit looking specifically at events leading up to the Argentine invasion of the Falklands and could therefore report within six months. This committee is looking at precisely what the noble Lord said was so important—it is looking at the time leading up to the invasion, from mid-2001 until next month. That is an awfully long time for a committee to consider, and a year would seem appropriate. I was asked whether the inquiry would cover issues such as, "Why did we go to war?" Yes, it will cover all those issues. Will Jeremy Greenstock’s memoirs be published? I do not know, but I shall certainly come back to the noble Lord in writing. With that, I think that I have covered all the questions that have been raised to date.