LONDON – British prime minister Gordon Brown has been called to give evidence to the Iraq inquiry but will not appear until after next year’s general election, it was announced yesterday.
Sir John Chilcot’s committee will also wait until after the election to question British foreign secretary David Miliband and international development secretary Douglas Alexander.
The move comes after Sir John, a retired Whitehall mandarin, insisted his inquiry would “remain firmly outside party politics”.
The committee also revealed yesterday that Alastair Campbell had been summoned to appear early in the new year. Tony Blair’s former chief spin doctor will give evidence in January or early February before the inquiry takes a break until after the election.
The prime minister is required to call an election by June at the latest.
Lord Peter Goldsmith, the former attorney general whose advice on the legality of the 2003 invasion has been at the centre of controversy, will also give evidence in January or February.
Other major figures to appear in early 2010 include Mr Blair’s former chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, and a string of senior ministers and civil servants of the time. Mr Blair, the then prime minister, will appear during the same sessions.
Others to appear include: former defence secretaries John Reid, Des Browne and Geoff Hoon; former foreign secretaries Jack Straw (now justice secretary) and Margaret Beckett; former cabinet secretary Lord Andrew Turnbull and other top civil servants from the ministry of defence and the treasury; and chief of defence staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup.
But the evidence of Mr Brown, Mr Miliband and Mr Alexander will be saved until the inquiry resumes its public sessions next summer, after the election.
In a statement, the inquiry said: “Sir John Chilcot stated on December 17th that the committee is ‘determined to remain firmly outside party politics’ and that ‘the inquiry should not be used as a political platform for political advantage’.
“For this reason, the committee has decided to wait until after the election to hear from those ministers who are currently serving in the roles about which the committee wishes to question them.
“The committee believes that only after the general election can these ministers give their evidence fully without the hearings being used as a platform for political advantage.”
A Downing Street spokesman said: “The prime minister initiated the Chilcot inquiry and has always been clear that he and ministers would co-operate fully with it. It is an independent inquiry and it is for the inquiry to determine who it calls to give evidence and when they are asked to appear.”
Two polls at the weekend showed the Conservatives extending their lead over Labour, reversing surveys that had suggested Mr Brown was narrowing the gap.
An Ipsos MORI poll for the Observer showed the Conservatives on 43 per cent, with a 17-point lead over Labour.
A YouGov poll for the Peoplenewspaper put the Conservatives on 40 per cent and Labour on 28 per cent. – (PA, Reuters)