John Baron

Conservative Party | Billericay and District

John Baron MP: Chilcot inquiry has yet to ask the key questions

MP: Panel risks becoming an executive 'patsy'

In an open letter to Sir John Chilcot, John Baron MP has said that the recent questioning of key witnesses has found the panel wanting. A series of key questions have yet to be answered, including the role of spin doctors in the drafting of the WMD dossier and the reasoning behind the dramatic change in the US assessment of the threat posed by Iraq post 9/11.

John said:

"Key questions have yet to be asked and time is running out. For example, as late as July 2001 American diplomats publicly stated that the economic sanctions had worked and that Iraq was weak and militarily defenceless. Why did American rhetoric change so completely, and why did the UK then follow so blindly?"

"My letter also highlights vital questions about the role of spin doctors within the dossier drafting process on Iraq's WMD. I cite clear examples of where these spin doctors turned intelligence 'possibilities' into 'probabilities', in order to convince a sceptical nation of the case for war."

"I also highlight an organisation called the Coalition Intelligence Centre which no previous inquiry has mentioned, and which only came to light after answers to my FOI requests had been initially redacted. This appears to have been a propaganda unit based in the Foreign Office. It has since been disbanded."

"With Blair yet to appear, the panel must now ask these searching questions unless it wants to go down in history as an executive 'patsy'. It has a duty to do so, to ensure we never make such an appalling mistake again."