MP brands private Iraq investigation inadequate

SNPWestminster Leader and Defence Spokesperson, AngusRobertson MP, has branded the UK Government’s inquiry intothe war in Iraqin closed session as “totally inadequate” and warned that it will not providethe answers so badly needed.

The SNP have led demands for an inquiry into the Iraq war, and secured the firstsubstantive debate in October 2006 – at that time the vote was narrowly lost byjust 25 votes – with 12 Labour rebels. It was backed by all Tories and LiberalDemocrats.

Mr Robertson said:

“As he reinvented himself last week, Gordon Brown told us he was committed totransparency in government. Today, the doors he was so keen to open have beenslammed shut in the faces of our service personnel, the families who lost lovedones in Iraq, those people who protested against the war, and all of us who arepaying for it.

“Theclaim that the war was about weapons of mass destruction was a blatant lie, amere cover story unsupported by the facts, which has cost the lives ofthousands of civilians and hundreds of our brave soldiers. The timing and scopeof this inquiry all point to a desperate Government and a Prime Minister makinga cynical attempt to boost his faltering leadership.

“We must learn the lessons from the worst UK Foreignpolicy decision in living memory and this can only be done through a full andopen investigation - that this inquiry will take place in private is totallyoutrageous and entirely inadequate.  

“The SNP have been pressing for years on this issue,and will continue to push until the full story about the events which led tothe war in Iraqand the conflict itself are known.”