Iraq war inquiry gets under way (From Romsey Advertiser)

Iraq war inquiry gets under way

10:37am Tuesday 24th November 2009

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The team conducting the official Iraq War inquiry will not "shy away" from criticism, the man in charge warned as the long-awaited probe began.

Inquiry chairman Sir John Chilcot said nobody was "on trial" and his committee could not determine "guilt or innocence".

"But I make a commitment here that, once we get to our final report, we will not shy away from making criticisms where they are warranted," the retired career civil servant said.

Three senior officials from the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defence are the first witnesses as the televised proceedings start by examining the policies which led to the 2003 invasion.

They will be followed over the coming weeks by a succession of diplomats, military officers and politicians, including former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is expected to appear early in the new year.

In an opening statement, Sir John said of the inquiry: "My colleagues and I come to this task with open minds. We are apolitical and independent of any political party. We want to examine the evidence. We will approach our task in a way that is thorough, rigorous, fair and frank."

He said his committee had received "mountains" of written material from government departments involved in Iraq between 2001 and 2009. "We have spent many hours combing through these official records - and will continue to do this in the months ahead," Sir John added. "We are confident that we will have access to all the material that we need."

The former mandarin said of the upcoming witnesses: "We expect them always to give evidence that is truthful, fair and accurate." He also warned he would halt the inquiry if national security was threatened.

It was the final withdrawal of the last main body of British troops from Iraq earlier this year, which finally cleared the way for Gordon Brown to appoint the inquiry his predecessor had for so long resisted.

The other members of the five-strong inquiry team are the eminent historian Sir Martin Gilbert, former diplomat Sir Roderic Lyne, war studies academic Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman and legal affairs expert Baroness Usha Prashar. They have been given a wide-ranging remit covering the period from the lead-up to war from 2001 to the present day.

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