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Executive Summary
906.  All civilian deployments should be assessed and reviewed against a single,
rigorous, cross‑government framework for risk management. The framework should
provide the means for the Government as a whole to strike an effective balance between
security and operational effectiveness, and to take timely decisions on the provision of
appropriate security measures.
907.  Standardising tour lengths for civilians deployed by different departments would
have eased the overall administrative burden and, perhaps, some of the tensions
between individuals from different government departments serving in Iraq. But the
environment was difficult and individuals’ resilience and circumstances varied.
The introduction of the option to extend a tour of duty was an appropriate response.
908.  Throughout any operation of this kind, departments should maintain two
procedures for the systematic debriefing of staff returning to the UK: one to meet duty
of care obligations, the other to learn lessons from their experience.
909.  In order to identify individuals with the right skills, there must be clarity about the
roles they are to perform. Wherever possible, individuals should be recruited for and
deployed to clearly defined roles appropriate to their skills and seniority. They must be
provided with the equipment needed to perform those roles to a high standard.
910.  The Government should consider the introduction of a mechanism for responding
to a surge in demand for a particular language capability.
911.  The Inquiry views the inability of the FCO, the MOD and DFID to confirm how
many civilian personnel were deployed to or employed in Iraq, in which locations and
in what roles, as a serious failure. Data management systems must provide accurate
information on the names, roles and locations of all staff for whom departments have
duty of care responsibilities.
Timeline of events
Before 2001
2 August 1990
Saddam Hussein invades Kuwait
29 November 1990 Security Council adopts resolution 678
3 April 1991
Security Council adopts resolution 687
December 1998
Operation Desert Fox
2 June 1999
Ministerial Committee on Defence and Overseas Policy
approves a policy of continuing containment
17 December 1999 Security Council adopts resolution 1284
141
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