Iraq war probe ready to name and blame, says chairman

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Inquiry to begin as leaked papers reveal troops were poorly equipped for conflict
By Michael Savage, Political Correspondent
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/iraq-war-probe-ready-to-name-and-blame--says-chairman-1825919.html

The former Whitehall mandarin heading the long-awaited inquiry into the Iraq war has said his team will not shrink from criticising Tony Blair and other senior government figures if they are found to be at fault.

Sir John Chilcot, whose inquiry will hear the first public testimony tomorrow, said that the probe aimed to produce a "full and insightful" account of the decisions made in the run-up to war to build up a full narrative of the events and mistakes that occurred.

He added that he wanted to avoid the "adversarial ding-dong" of the courtroom during the exchanges. However, his team has already come under pressure to investigate claims that the former prime minister misled Parliament in the run-up to the war.

Sir John said he was aiming to create a natural atmosphere during the public hearings, which will carry on into the new year, in order to help foster "the human reaction to the key questions about people's responsibility at any particular time or any particular bit of the Iraq adventure".

But he warned witnesses that this did not mean that they should try to mislead the inquiry team, which has already been handed hundreds of documents about the decision-making that took place during the period.

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1. What an unfortunate name (the political correspondent)

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2. Iraq war inquiry will be no whitewash, Chilcot says

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8373202.stm

The man in charge of the inquiry examining events surrounding the Iraq war has said his committee will not produce a report that is a "whitewash".

Sir John Chilcot, a retired career civil servant, has promised to produce a "full and insightful" account.

(snip)
Critics have questioned whether a committee chosen by Downing Street can be independent of the government.

But Sir John has insisted he and his four colleagues are impartial and open minded.