The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
•
282 Border
Police and Customs officials had been recruited, out of a total
of
1,500
planned by February 2004.
•
180 members
of the Iraqi Riverine Patrol Service (IRPS), out of the 380
planned
by February
2004, had been recruited.
•
Recruitment
for the 392‑strong Iraqi Coastal Defence Force, which would
be
responsible
for security in Iraqi territorial waters and anti‑smuggling
activity,
would begin
in two weeks.
514.
Lt
Gen Reith wrote that over the following 12 months only four
elements of the
ISF would
relieve Coalition Forces of tasks: the IPS, ICDC, IRPS and FPS. It
was “too
early to
judge the effectiveness or quality of these units, but the
‘Iraqiisation factor’
alone is
expected to gain popular support”. Although other elements of the
ISF would
help to
improve the security situation, Lt Gen Reith felt there was
“little likelihood that
their
partial or full operational capability will permit any meaningful
reduction in troop
numbers”.
515.
On 14 October,
a documentary entitled ‘Basra Beat’ which followed DCC
White’s
deployment
in Iraq was broadcast by BBC Northern Ireland’s Spotlight
programme.456
The
programme exposed DCC White’s concerns about the SSR programme in
Iraq, and
the UK’s
resourcing of it.
516.
In his
statement to the Inquiry, Former ACC White explained that, in
particular,
a remark he
made about his frustration with the delays in deploying officers
caused
controversy
back in the UK.457
He told the
Inquiry that as a result many “negative
opinions
were offered” about him and that he was left “feeling unsupported
and isolated”
but for the
support of Sir Hilary Synnott and
Ms Kennedy.
517.
An update from
Mr Straw’s Private Secretary to Sir Nigel Sheinwald on 17
October
did not
refer to the issues raised by DCC White’s
documentary.458
The Private
Secretary
reported
that “good progress” was being made in developing the Iraqi police
and that
there was a
“credible and deliverable strategy to train 30,000 Iraqi police
over the
next year”.
518.
Mr Straw’s
Private Secretary reported that efforts in Basra were
focused
on
developing the Regional Police Training Academy (RPTA) and that an
“initial
retraining
programme for serving Iraqi police officers began on 12 October
under UK
management”.
He reported that 24 UK police officers were about to start
pre‑deployment
training
and would deploy as soon as the RPTA facilities were ready to
receive them.
That would
bring the total deployment of UK officers in Basra and Jordan to
100.
456
BBC
News, 14
October 2003, UK ‘failing
to police Basra’.
457
Statement,
20 June 2010, pages 30‑31.
458
Minute
Sinclair to Sheinwald, 17 October 2003. ‘Iraq: Security and
Policing’.
168