Carmichael condemns “secret” Iraq inquiry
June 16, 2009 1:51 PM
Originally published by Scottish Liberal Democrats
Originally published by Scottish Liberal Democrats
Orkney and Shetland MP Alistair Carmichael has condemned Gordon Brown's announcement that the long-anticipated inquiry into the War in Iraq will be held in secret.
In a statement to the House of Commons (Monday 15 June), the Prime Minister also told MPs that he did not expect the enquiry committee, chaired by Sir John Chilcott to report before the next election.Alistair Carmichael MP: Orkney & Shetland
Commenting after the Prime Ministers statement, Mr Carmichael said;
"Yesterday's statement by the Prime Minister was yet another example of this government's 'say one thing do another' attitude. Just last week we heard from the Prime Minister how he was going to make politics more open and transparent. Instead what we actually get is the long awaited inquiry into the war in Iraq being conducted behind closed doors.
"Public confidence cannot be restored if the inquiry is not completely open and accessible. The question that is begged by yesterday's announcement is what does the Prime Minister feel he has to hide? This secret inquiry will do nothing to satisfy the vast majority of people in this country who opposed the UK's illegal invasion of Iraq.
"The war in Iraq was one of the most divisive in our country's history. Despite that, men and women in our armed forces have performed heroically and many have been killed. We owe it to them now to bring some closure to this issue and to restore some trust in the government's handling of this matter. That is why the enquiry must be open and public. Anything less will fail to meet this purpose."
Mr Carmichael has previously argued that the war in Iraq was both illegal and unjustified - and that the government misled the British public in order to take the country to war.
In 2004 he questioned the then Foreign Minister Jack Straw MP about the lack of evidence of Weapons of Mass Destruction found in Iraq. Mr Carmichael has consistently argued for a full inquiry into the war, not least because the bereaved relatives of Britain's fallen soldiers need to satisfy the many unanswered questions surrounding the events that took Britain to war.
A link to Mr Carmichael's 2004 Hansard -
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmhansrd/vo041012/debtext/41012-03.htm
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