Iraq intelligence inquiry to be reopened

1.00pm - By COLIN BROWN and ANDREW GRICE

The inquiry into the flawed intelligence which led Britain to war in Iraq on false claims that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction is to be reopened by a Labour-led select committee.

The Commons Select Committee on Foreign Affairs (FAC) agreed at a meeting behind closed doors to write to Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, with a series of questions, including whether he told the Prime Minister that the intelligence had been withdrawn in July, last year, because it was no longer judged to be credible.

The Independent also learnt that the Prime Minister's special Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) at a separate private meeting yesterday agreed to probe the revelations in the Butler report that MI6 had withdrawn the intelligence underpinning the claims about WMD.

The decision by the two committees to pursue the unravelling of the evidence surrounding the Government dossiers on Iraq was a fresh blow to Mr Blair after surviving Tuesday's Commons debate on Iraq.

He was hoping to draw a line under the row for the summer, but it is now certain to continue rumbling until the party conference season in the Autumn.

The Government also will be alarmed to discover that Donald Anderson, the Labour chairman of the FAC, may also have lost the Labour majority on the committee after two Labour MPs who have been highly critical of the Government - Eric Illsley and Andrew Mackinlay - refused to vote with the Labour majority.

The Labour MPs on the committee tried to stop it pursuing the inquiry beyond writing the letter to Mr Straw. However, in a split vote, it was agreed to use a professional expert to investigate the disparities in the evidence to the Hutton inquiry and the evidence taken by the committee in private session from Mr Straw.

Mr Illsley and Mr Mackinlay abstained in the vote.

The Labour MPs on the committee were defeated by four votes to three by the Opposition MPs on the committee, including David Chidgey, the Liberal Democrat MP, and Andrew Mackay, a former Tory whip.

The Opposition MPs will seek the support of Mr Illsley and Mr Mackinlay to recall Mr Straw if disparities are found in the evidence.

The MPs want to know why neither they nor the Hutton inquiry were told about the withdrawal by MI6 of the crucial evidence in July, 2003. Mr Straw on Tuesday revealed he was told in September, last year.

Mr Blair last night refused to give details about when he was told, but insisted it was "as a result of the Butler inquiry" into the intelligence mistakes.

Last night, Bob Marshall-Andrews, QC, a Labour MP opposed to the war, tabled a further question to Mr Blair demanding the date on which Mr Blair was told.

Mr Marshall-Andrews said: "This is the silver bullet. Someone is going to come out of the shadows and say, 'I did tell the Prime Minister before he went before the Hutton inquiry'. That would be fatal for Tony Blair. Politically, he would be dead."

The ISC inquiry is part of its rolling programme of intelligence scrutiny.

Sources close to the committee said they had agreed yesterday to continue investigating the withdrawal of the evidence. They have more power than the FAC to demand to see intelligence briefings which go to ministers.

They were told orally by Richard Dearlove, the head of MI6, in July, last year, that the intelligence on chemical and biological weapons had been withdrawn as unreliable. They kept it secret until the Butler report was delivered.

"It was given to us in more than usual confidence," said the source.

Lord King of Bridgwater, a former chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) said both the ISC and the Foreign Affairs Committee were right to launch new investigations into the withdrawn intelligence to restore confidence in their scrutiny role.

"If there is going to be some recovery of the reputation of Parliament for conducting proper investigations, I think they need to demand to reopen those inquiries and look at them in the light on all the fresh information that has come," he said.

Lord King, a former Tory Defence Secretary, said it was "extraordinary" that Mr Blair was not told that the discredited intelligence was withdrawn even though Mr Straw was informed last September.

He said that either the civil service was falling down on the job or the Prime Minister was told and did not remember it because under his informal style of governing there were not proper minutes.

MPs were sceptical that Mr Blair was not told, saying it "beggared belief" that backbenchers on the ISC were aware of the withdrawal of the intelligence while the Prime Minister was not.

They pointed to a memorandum sent by Mr Straw to the Foreign Affairs Committee last July which said: "The Prime Minister and other ministers who are members of the Committee on Security and Intelligence see all Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) papers."

The JIC was told that the evidence was discredited and withdrawn. There was speculation at Westminster that officials had decided not to tell Mr Blair in order to create "a firewall" to protect him from allegations that he misled Parliament over the threat posed by Iraq.

Asked if that was the case, Mr Blair's official spokesman said Downing Street would not be drawn into 'processology'.

He added: "The important thing is that this was one element but not the only element."

Michael Mates, a member of the ISC, confirmed the committee was told the evidence had been withdrawn.

He said: "We did look into it...the intelligence was flawed and faulty. The ISC was told in confidence because at that stage it was very much a moving scene and we couldn't report it for sensitive security reasons."

Mr Mates said it was "foolish" of Mr Blair to promote John Scarlett, the JIC chairman, as head of MI6 in May while the Butler inquiry was taking place.

Meanwhile, Lord Butler has been summoned to the Commons Public Administration Select Committee on Thursday October 21 to give more evidence on his finding that Mr Blair had operated a "sofa-style" clique, instead of proper Cabinet committees with minutes.

- INDEPENDENT

Herald Feature: Iraq