The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
appointees
to hold central executive roles.11
The Order
was revoked by Mr Gordon
Brown when
he took office in June 2007.12
33.
Mr Powell
described his role to the Inquiry as “to bring together the foreign
and
domestic,
the political and the Civil Service, the press and the policy bits
of Number
“It was my
job to make sure that Number 10 was co-ordinated to make sure
that
those
things [provision of support and advice to the Prime Minister and
government]
were
happening … I followed the Prime Minister’s priorities, so I would
shift from
34.
In relation to
Iraq, Mr Powell said that he operated more in a “link role”,
ensuring that
Mr Blair
was kept up to date and that his decisions were communicated
rapidly.15
35.
In his
book The New
Machiavelli Mr Powell
wrote:
“The most
important task of a chief of staff is saying ‘no’. Politicians
always like to
say ‘yes’,
and it is important they continue doing so if they are to remain
popular.
But it is
not possible to see everyone who asks for a meeting, nor to attend
every
event… so
someone needs to refuse and take the flak for doing so. Likewise,
not all
advice
should be accepted and someone has to send it back asking for more
work
36.
Mr Blair said
of Mr Powell: “his main contributions to the office were a
knowledge of
the Civil
Service system, an extraordinary work rate… and a politics that was
completely
and
naturally New Labour”.17
37.
Commenting on
the decision to create the post of Security and
Intelligence
Co‑ordinator,
the Butler Review reported that it had been “represented to
us
that
this change had been particularly necessary after the
terrorist attacks of
11 September 2001”.
38.
The Butler
Review commented that the effect of creating the post
was:
“… that the
Cabinet Secretary is no longer so directly involved in the chain
through
which
intelligence reaches the Prime Minister. It follows that the
Cabinet Secretary,
who attends
the Cabinet and maintains the machinery to support their
decision-
making is
less directly involved personally in advising the Prime Minister on
security
11 Civil
Service Order in Council 1995, as amended 1997, section 3
(3).
12
Letter
Smethurst to Watt, 19 August 2013, ‘Ref: Freedom of Information Act
Request’.
13
Public
hearing, 18 January 2010, page 2.
14
Public
hearing, 18 January 2010, page 3.
15
Public
hearing, 18 January 2010, page 5.
16
Powell
J. The New
Machiavelli: How to wield power in the modern world.
The Bodley
Head, 2010.
17
Blair
T. A
Journey. Hutchinson,
2010.
272