Archive for June 17th, 2009
17th June 2009
Quite apart from the fact that holding the proposed Iraq war inquiry in secret is morally unacceptable, it is surely yet another tactical disaster as the Government is sure to be defeated nest Wednesday when the following Opposition motion is to be debated:
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That this House, while welcoming the announcement by the Government of an Inquiry into the war in Iraq, believes that the proceedings of the Committee of Inquiry should whenever possible be held in public; and that the membership of the Committee should be wider and more diverse than the Government has proposed, and calls on the Government to revise its proposals for the Inquiry to meet these and other objections raised by hon. Members and to submit proposed terms of reference for it to the House on a substantive motion for full debate and scrutiny.
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The one criticism that I would make of the Conservatives is that they could have made this a genuinely cross-party motion (as we did in the original Iraq inquiry debate three years ago) so as to maximise Labour support. Nevertheless I still think that sufficient Labour rebels are incensed enough on this occasion to overcome their usual distaste to joining the Tories in the lobby. The publication of the Public Administration Committee’s report following their seminar last week on the scope of the Iraq war inquiry is almost certain to add further to the pressure on the Government to cave in. I predict a last-minute U-turn or a second Government defeat in six weeks. Can this Government really limp on till next May with a PM who so clearly lacks judgment?
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