The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
148.
The House
of Commons voted on 25 November to “support”
resolution
1441 and
agreed that if the Government of Iraq failed “to comply fully” with
its
provisions,
“the Security Council should meet in order to consider the
situation
and the
need for full compliance”.
149.
Mr Straw’s
speech focused on the definition of a material breach
and
whether it
would be for the Security Council to determine whether such a
breach
had
occurred.
150.
After its
return from recess, the House of Commons debated resolution
1441
on 25 November.
151.
The Government
motion proposed:
“That this
House supports UNSCR 1441 as unanimously adopted by the
UN
Security
Council; agrees that the Government of Iraq must comply fully with
all
provisions
of the resolution; and agrees that, if it fails to do so, the
Security Council
should meet
in order to consider the situation and the need for full
compliance.”48
152.
Mr Michael
Moore (Liberal Democrat) proposed an amendment to make it
clear
that the
Security Council should determine whether military action should be
taken. The
amendment
proposed the following addition to the Government
motion:
“… and
believes that any decision that Iraq is in material breach of
resolution 1441
is for the
UN Security Council as a whole to determine and that no military
action
to enforce
resolution 1441 should be taken against Iraq without a mandate from
the
UN Security
Council; and further believes that no British forces should be
committed
to any such
military action against Iraq without a debate in this House and
a
substantive
motion in favour.”49
153.
Normally the
Speaker of the House of Commons, selects the amendment
proposed by
the Official Opposition.50
154.
In his opening
speech, Mr Straw stated that resolution 1441 had “one
central
aim: the
peaceful removal of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction through an
effective
inspection
regime”.51
He set out
the inspection process, including that inspections
would
resume in
Iraq by 27 November, “four weeks ahead of the Security Council’s
deadline”.
48
House of
Commons, Official
Report, 25
November 2002, column 47.
49
House of
Commons, Official
Report, 25
November 2002, column 73.
50
Cook
R. The Point
of Departure. Simon
& Schuster UK Ltd, 2003.
51
House of
Commons, Official
Report, 25
November 2002, columns 47‑63.
30