The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
considered
the issue in Baghdad to be “protection rather than evacuation”.
Sir Michael
was
“willing to accept the judgement of those on the ground that the
arrangements
in place
adequately provide security for the military and civilian secondees
already
in ORHA
and the augmentees we will be deploying from today”.
“In
briefing UK secondees … we have stressed that Baghdad is an
insecure
environment
and that security guidelines laid down by the US military must
be
followed at
all times … All secondees are deploying with a full suite of
protective
equipment
including body armour, helmets and personal NBC [nuclear,
biological,
chemical]
suits, and have been trained in their use by MOD.”
104.
Sir Michael
agreed, however, that it would be helpful to have a more detailed
plan,
“not least
to meet the insurance requirements of contracted staff”. Depending
on what
the DFID
security team concluded, the FCO might take up the suggestion that
their
work “form
the basis for a security plan covering all UK secondees”. DFID and
the FCO
should
continue to liaise closely.
105.
The first
joint FCO/DFID security visit took place at the end of June and
is
addressed
later in this Section.
106.
Before the
AHMGIR on 15 May, the IPU advised Mr Straw that:
“Security
for our secondees is a key concern … The US military are committed
to
providing
ORHA’s overall security and evacuation arrangements … ORHA does
not
yet have a
detailed evacuation plan, but the advice from theatre is that the
key issue
in Baghdad
is protection rather than evacuation.
…
“Our own
judgement, including that of Security Strategy Unit, has been to
accept
the view of
those on the ground … The UK civilians currently in ORHA … have
told
us that
they are content with the way the US arrangements work in practice
… We
have
therefore proceeded with the deployment of additional secondees,
and the first
group of 22
departed for Iraq on 14 May.” 69
107.
There is no
record of the issue being discussed by the AHMGIR on 15
May.70
108.
In the
Annotated Agenda for the 22 May AHMGIR, officials explained
that
security
experts had drawn up procedures that allowed DFID “to deploy fully
in support
69
Minute
Chatterton Dickson to Private Secretary [FCO], 14 May 2003, ‘Iraq:
ORHA: Security for UK
Secondees’
attaching Paper, ‘Iraq: Ad Hoc Ministerial Group, 15 May: ORHA
Secondees: Security’.
70
Minutes, 15
May 2003, Ad Hoc Group on Iraq Rehabilitation meeting.
71 Annotated
Agenda, 22 May 2003, Ad Hoc Group on Iraq Rehabilitation
meeting.
262