The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
is now
known about these programmes; as part of this work, to investigate
the
accuracy of
intelligence on Iraqi WMD up to March 2003, and to examine
any
discrepancies
between the intelligence gathered, evaluated and used by
the
Government
before the conflict, and between that intelligence and what has
been
discovered
by the Iraq Survey Group since the end of the conflict; and to
make
recommendations
to the Prime Minister for the future on the gathering,
evaluation
and use of
intelligence on WMD, in the light of the difficulties of operating
in
countries
of concern.”
666.
Mr Straw
explained that, while the ISC, FAC and Hutton inquiries had
been
under way:
“… three
proposals were put before the House in June, July and late October
on
Opposition
motions calling for wider inquiries into aspects of the
Government’s
handling of
events in the run-up to the Iraq war. At the time, the Government
resisted
those
calls, including on the ground that the inquiries already under way
should be
allowed to
complete their work. Later, both the Prime Minister and I also
referred to
the
continuing activities of the Iraq Survey Group.
“Over the
past week, we have seen the publication of the Hutton Report
and
the
evidence of Dr David Kay, former head of the Iraq Survey Group, to
a US
Congressional
Committee. It has also emerged that the Iraq Survey Group may
take
longer to
produce a final report than we had all originally envisaged. All
that has led
the
Government now to judge that it is appropriate to establish this
new inquiry of
Privy
Councillors.”
667.
Mr Blair
and President Bush discussed WMD on
4 February.369
Mr Blair
said he
thought the
public needed to be educated on the nature of intelligence: “not
clear facts,
but
patterns of information on which leaders had to make a
judgement”.
668.
Mr Tenet
used a speech at Georgetown University on 5 February to set
out his
position on
Iraqi WMD and the October 2002 NIE.370
669.
The UK was
invited to comment on a draft copy on
4 February.371
369
Letter
Cannon to Adams, 4 February 2004, ‘Prime Minister’s
Video-Conference with President Bush,
4 February’.
370
Central
Intelligence Agency, 5 February 2004, Remarks as
prepared for delivery by Director of Central
Intelligence
George J. Tenet at Georgetown University, 5 February 2004:
Iraq and Weapons of Mass
Destruction.
371
Manuscript
comment Scarlett to Rycroft, 4 February 2004, on Speech
(draft), Tenet, 3 February 2004,
‘Remarks
for the Director of Central Intelligence George J Tenet at
Georgetown University,
February 5,
2004’.
556