The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
Ms Lindy
Cameron, Deputy Head of DFID’s Baghdad Office in 2004, told the
Inquiry
that,
during the last six months of the CPA, UK officials “helped to do a
level of
supervision
of how some of the funding was spent that had come from the Iraqi
oil
revenues”,
but any influence was “more at the tactical level than at the
strategic
Sir Jon
Cunliffe told the Inquiry that the CPA had been “very resistant to
external
monitoring
and external accountability”.237
414.
The Occupation
of Iraq formally came to an end on 28 June 2004, two days
earlier
than had
been originally planned.
415.
Power was
transferred from the CPA and the Governing Council to the Iraqi
Interim
Government
(IIG) headed by Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.238
416.
As set out in
resolution 1546 (2004), the IIG took on responsibility for
the
disbursement
of oil revenues from the US and UK (as Occupying
Powers).
417.
Although oil
production remained below pre-war levels, the UK
Government
expected
that the high oil price (over US$35 per barrel against the budgeted
level of
US$22 per
barrel) would result in a significant surplus for the Iraqi budget
in 2004.239
418.
On 1 July, the
AHMGIR commissioned the FCO to co-ordinate an integrated
UK
strategy
covering the period up to Iraqi elections (in early
2005).240
419.
Mr Edward
Chaplin arrived in Baghdad on 5 July to take up post as the first
UK
Ambassador
to Iraq since 1990.241
420.
The strategy
paper commissioned by the AHMGIR was circulated on 13 July
to
members of
the Defence and Overseas Policy Committee (DOP), a Sub-Committee
of
the
Cabinet, on 13 July.242
The paper
defined seven objectives, including:
“•
reduction
of subsidies and an agreed IMF programme leading to a
debt
settlement
by the end of the year.”
421.
The 15 July
meeting of DOP agreed those objectives.243
Ministers
stated that
the UK
needed to continue to work closely with the Iraqi Oil Minister,
with a focus on
reducing
government subsidies in the oil sector and on technical
training.
236
Public
hearing, 22 June 2010, page 28.
237
Public
hearing, 9 July 2010, pages 38-39.
238
Bremer LP
III & McConnell M. My Year in
Iraq: The Struggle to Build a Future of Hope. Threshold,
2006.
239
Paper,
[undated], ‘Iraq – Summer 2004 Economic Overview’.
240
Minutes, 1
July 2004, Ad Hoc Group on Iraq Rehabilitation
meeting.
241
Public
hearing, 7 December 2009, pages 1-2.
242
Paper FCO,
13 July 2004, ‘Iraq: the Next Six Months’.
243
Minutes, 15
July 2004, DOP meeting.
436