The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
242.
In questions
to Mr Cook later that day, Mr Dalyell asked for confirmation that
the
House of
Commons would be consulted before a commitment to military action,
not
after.87
Mr Cook
responded that Mr Blair had said no decision had been taken, and
no
one
anticipated one being taken in the near or medium future. Mr Cook
added:
“Indeed,
there is no timetable or process by which such a decision could be
taken.
It would
therefore be ludicrously premature … to commit myself to what the
House
may do in
the event of a hypothetical outcome that is not expected for
many
months.”
243.
Mr Douglas
Hogg (Conservative) asked for an early debate on Iraq, the
publication
of a
document setting out “the chief areas of concern in the context of
Iraq”, and that,
in the
event of military action outside action in the No-Fly Zones, the
House should be
given an
opportunity to vote on a substantive motion.88
244.
Mr Cook
replied that a decision might never be taken. He added that the
areas
of concern:
“… were
well known and unarguable. The fact is that the Iraqi regime has
several
thousand of
unaccounted litres of toxic chemicals that would be appropriate
to
use in a
chemical weapon; it has made a considerable investment in
developing
biological
germ agents that could be used in biological weapons; and has
proceeded
intensively
– and appears to be continuing to do so – with medium-range
missiles
that could
deliver such warheads. In addition … Saddam Hussein used
chemical
weapons
…
“Given that
history and the present record, it is entirely proper that the
world should
take action
through every available channel, starting with the United Nations
to
ensure
Saddam Hussein accepts what the rest of the world accepts: no
regime
should have
access to weapons of mass destruction unless it fully participates
in
international
regimes to control proliferation.”
245.
The following
day, an article in The
Guardian newspaper
reported that, questioned
by
reporters at his weekly meeting, Mr Cook had:
“… admitted
that ‘many people sometimes have contradictory instincts on
this.
Nobody
likes military action.’
“… also
praised the Labour rebels as MPs who include some with ‘long
and
honourable
records in opposing proliferation and demanding strong action’
against
transgressors.
That may have been a hint to colleagues that they should not
be
87
House of
Commons, Official
Report, 7 March
2002, column 423.
88
House of
Commons, Official
Report, 7 March
2002, column 424.
430