13.1 |
Resources
353.
Contingency
planning in the FCO, including for the procurement of
armoured
vehicles,
portable accommodation and equipment to support the re‑opening of a
UK
Office in
Baghdad, had begun by September 2002.209
354.
Mr Straw
wrote to Mr Boateng on 17 February 2003, seeking £6.3m from
the
Reserve to
cover costs incurred in preparing for possible conflict or regime
change
in Iraq.210
That
comprised:
•
£3m for a
‘container’ Embassy in Baghdad;
•
£1.2m for
Chemical Biological Warfare (CBW) suits and air
monitors;
•
£740,000
for armoured cars, and for additional guards and security
across
the region;
•
£668,000
for communications equipment for Baghdad;
•
£380,000
for additional staffing costs in London; and
•
£316,000
for an increased public diplomacy and information
campaign.
355.
Mr Straw
stated that, in the event of a conflict, the FCO would have to
make
a further
claim.
356.
Mr Boateng
replied two days later, agreeing the bids for the Embassy, CBW
suits
and air
monitors, armoured cars and additional security, and communications
equipment
(a total of
£5.62 million).211
He rejected
the bids for additional staffing in London and
the public
diplomacy and information campaign, arguing that “these were of a
size and
nature that
we would expect the FCO to absorb”.
357.
Sir Nicholas
Macpherson told the Inquiry:
“Forecasts
for the overall net additional costs of military operations, as
well as
estimates
for UOR expenditure, were produced by the Ministry of Defence
in
consultation
with the Treasury. The estimates were based on historical data
coupled
with
assumptions on the anticipated operational tempo, activity and
conditions for
the
forthcoming 12 months.”212
358.
Addressing the
accuracy of those estimates, Sir Nicholas Macpherson told
the
Inquiry:
“We [the
Treasury] were making estimates through the autumn of
2002.
The Treasury
doesn’t always get forecasts right, and it didn’t get this forecast
totally
209
Minute
Collecott to Jay, 27 September 2002, ‘Iraq Contingency
Measures’.
210
Letter
Straw to Boateng, 17 February 2003, ‘Iraq and Terrorism
Costs’.
211
Letter
Boateng to Straw, 19 February 2003, ‘Reserve Claim for Iraq and
Terrorism Costs’.
212
Statement,
15 January 2010, page 3.
501