The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
advised
Mr Blair that he would need Mr Hoon, Mr Straw and Adm
Boyce and asked
which
Ministers and officials Mr Blair wanted to attend, including
whether Mr Blair
wanted Ms
Short, Sir Andrew Turnbull or Sir David Omand, and the Heads of
the
Intelligence
Agencies.100
166.
The minute was
copied to Baroness Sally Morgan (Director of Political
and
Government
Relations), Mr Alastair Campbell (Mr Blair’s Director of
Communications
and Strategy),
Mr Jeremy Heywood (Mr Blair’s Principal Private
Secretary),
Sir David Manning
and Mr Rycroft. It was not copied to Sir Andrew
Turnbull.
167.
Sir Andrew
Turnbull set out the arrangements for a small ‘War Cabinet’,
chaired
by Mr Blair
“to oversee the UK’s involvement in military action in Iraq”, in a
minute to
Mr Heywood
on 18 March 2003.101
The minute
said:
•
OD Sec
would produce a short note recording the main decisions after
each
meeting,
which would be “sent only to
those who attend”.
•
“There
might also be a case for having weekly meetings of DOP (including
the
Chancellor
and Home Secretary in addition), perhaps convening just
before
Cabinet.
This would provide an opportunity for wider Ministerial
involvement,
including
on day after issues. I suggest this is something that David
Manning
keeps under
review.”
•
COBR was
being activated on a 24 hour basis on 18 March: “As
during
the
Afghanistan conflict” Sir David Manning would “chair official
level
meetings
(both in restricted and wider formats) to co-ordinate and
galvanise
Departmental
activity and to ensure that the Prime Minister is properly
briefed
on developments”.
•
COBR would
produce “early-morning sitreps and a more detailed
thematic
Evening
Round-Up, following the Afghanistan model”.
•
Mr Scarlett
would “brief the Group on the intelligence picture”.
•
The
Assessments Staff were producing daily written intelligence
updates, which
would
“normally issue at 08:00”.
168.
The
Committee’s remit was to “cover … military and other updates and
the day’s
events”;
and “to focus on longer term policy decisions”, although the time
for that would
be limited
and would need to be “rationed carefully”.102
169.
The members of
the Committee were: Mr John Prescott (the Deputy Prime
Minister),
Mr Gordon Brown (the Chancellor of the Exchequer), Mr Jack
Straw (the
Foreign
Secretary), Mr David Blunkett (the Home Secretary), Ms Clare
Short (the
100
Minute
Powell to Prime Minister, 14 March 2003, ‘War
Cabinet’.
101
Minute
Turnbull to Heywood, 18 March 2003, ‘Iraq’.
102
Minute
Drummond to Rycroft, 19 March 2003, ‘Iraq Ministerial
Meeting’.
294