The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
was working
on the text, which would be speaking to Mr Scarlett about the
re-draft
(of the
dossier) on 6 September.
199.
Sir Richard
Dearlove agreed that Mr Straw could tell Mr Campbell
about the
SIS drafting
exercise.
200.
Mr Campbell
wrote in his diaries that Mr Straw told him on 5 September
that
he had seen
Sir Richard, who “had agreed to go through all the relevant
material
201.
Asked what his
comment about the draft being weakened by the JIC’s
doctrinaire
approach
had meant, Sir Richard Dearlove told the Inquiry:
“Good
question. I mean, the answer is I have seen this reference and I’m
not sure.
There must
be something specific that that refers to. It must be something to
do with
material
from one of our sources and how it was presented. I’m sorry. I
mean, I’m
sure if you
searched long and hard enough in SIS records, we could turn it up,
but
it would
be difficult, I think. I’m really not sure what that
is.”92
202.
A revised
structure for the dossier was agreed at a meeting chaired
by
Mr Campbell
on 5 September, which also decided that Mr Scarlett and
Mr Miller
would lead
the work.
203.
Mr McKane
wrote to Mr Campbell on 4 September with suggestions for the
agenda
of the
meeting to be chaired by Mr Campbell the next day “to discuss
how to take
forward”
Mr Blair’s decision to publish the dossier.93
204.
The suggested
agenda comprised:
“•
Timetable
for publication
•
The shape
of the Dossier – ie should all three chapters be published
together?
•
Arrangements
for allowing the US Government the opportunity to
comment
on our
documents
•
Press lines
to be used in connection with the IISS report to be
published
on Monday
9 September …”
205.
Mr McKane
wrote that he was sending Mr Campbell “the latest version of
the
Dossier –
though John Scarlett’s people are doing further work on the WMD
chapter”.
Mr Campbell
had already been sent the “first draft of a capping piece to answer
the
question:
‘Why Now?’”
91
Campbell A
& Hagerty B. The
Alastair Campbell Diaries. Volume 4. The Burden of Power:
Countdown
to Iraq.
Hutchinson,
2012.
92
Private
hearing, 16 June 2010, page 55.
93
Minute
McKane to Campbell, 4 September 2002, ‘Iraq: Public
Dossier’.
150