The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
245.
The Inquiry
concludes that the (brief) consideration of investment in new
power
generation
may have been prompted by Gen Riley’s 3 February proposal, in
response
to
Mr Blair’s request for advice on “big-ticket” items, that the
UK should aim to build a
200MW gas
turbine plant in the South at a cost of up to US$100m.
246.
Mr Hoon
wrote to Mr Benn on 25 February, highlighting the need to
ensure that
the UK did
all it could to alleviate power shortages in the South over the
summer (before
projects
under the IISP would begin to come on stream).141
Plans for a
US$10m project
to provide
point power generation throughout MND(SE), funded by CERPs, were
well
advanced.
Mr Benn’s offer to consider whether DFID could fund the
project if CERPs
funding was
not released was very welcome.
247.
Mr Blair
wrote a note to Mr Quarrey on 25 February instructing that
Mr Straw be
“put in
charge” of the Ad Hoc Ministerial Group on Iraq and asking him to
report each
week with
actions on “eg reconstruction in the South; Sunni outreach;
progress on
248.
Mr Benn
discussed the World Bank’s engagement in Iraq with
Mr Wolfensohn on
1 March
in the margins of the Palestine Conference.143
249.
Following a
meeting with Mr Benn on 8 March, Mr Michael Anderson,
Head of
DFID’s
Middle East and North Africa Department, advised officials in the
UK Delegation
to the
World Bank that Mr Benn had “very little patience” with the
Bank:
“The SoS
[Mr Benn] is very clear in his view that the slow disbursement
by the Bank
under the
IRFFI [Trust Fund] is unacceptable …
“… if the
Bank is not able to show a significant increase in its engagement
in Iraq by
the end of
March, we will be writing to the Bank to seek refund of the funds
to the
UK for
disbursement through our bilateral programme …
“His
commitment to this line is strong, and we will need to find a way
to carry forward
his views
despite the legal and reputational risks that may
arise.”144
141
Letter Hoon
to Benn, 25 February 2005, ‘Iraq: Reconstruction Priorities in
MND(SE)’.
142
Manuscript
comment Blair on Minute Quarrey to Prime Minister, 25 February
2005, ‘Iraq Update’.
143
Letter
Dinham to Tulu, 2 March 2005, ‘Iraq’.
144
Email
Anderson to Scholar, 8 March 2005, ‘World Bank and
Iraq’.
236