The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
560.
Mr Hoon
replied on 21 July:
“I first
became aware that SIS had withdrawn the reports as a result of
the
561.
Mr Blair
replied on 21 July:
“As my
Official Spokesman made clear on 16 July, it was as a result of
the
562.
In response to
a further question from Mr Price, asking when he had
become
aware that
“in July 2003” SIS “had withdrawn two reports from a new source on
trial
because the
source had by then been discredited”, Mr Blair replied on 16
September:
“These
matters have been examined during the course of the Butler Review
and
other
inquiries, and covered during debates and statements on Iraq and in
briefings
by my
Official Spokesman. All relevant information has been placed in the
public
domain
insofar as that could be done without prejudicing national
security.”211
563.
Asked by
Mr Bob Marshall-Andrews (Labour), in November 2004, for
the
precise
date on which he was aware of the intelligence services’ withdrawal
of “wholly
discredited”
reports, Mr Blair replied that he thought:
“… the
doubts about the information … were drawn to our attention during
the
Butler
Review. I can certainly look into the precise date on which that
happened.
It has
to be said, however, and I hope that he understands this, that the
information
and
intelligence that we received, we received in good faith and acted
on in
564.
Although the
SIS minute of 29 July 2003 withdrawing the reporting was sent
to
the Private
Offices of Mr Straw and Mr Hoon and to the Cabinet
Office, it was not sent
to No.10.
565.
The withdrawal
of the reporting was done in a very low key manner compared
with
the way in
which the original reporting was issued. That and the timing of the
minute
may explain
why it was not drawn to Mr Hoon’s attention. It is not clear
why SIS did not
inform
No.10 or ask the Assessments Staff to do so.
566.
Senior
members of SIS offered the Inquiry differing views about how
the
reports had
been used by SIS.
209
House of
Commons, Official
Report, 21 July
2004, column 267W.
210
House of
Commons, Official
Report, 21 July
2004, column 285W.
211
House of
Commons, Official
Report, 16
September 2004, column 1774WS.
212
House of
Commons, Official
Report, 17
November 2004, column 1344.
388