Blair demanded: Hold Iraq inquiry in secret

[cal04]

Critics say Tony Blair's hopes of becoming the EU president risk being scuppered if the investigation is held in public
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/blair-demanded-hold-iraq-inquiry-in-secret-1711549.html

The row over the decision to hold the Iraq war inquiry behind closed doors escalated last night as it emerged that Tony Blair pressed Gordon Brown to keep it private.

In a move that will deepen the outrage of families of British soldiers killed in Iraq, the former prime minister, one of the architects of the controversial war, wanted the hearings to be held in secret to avoid a public and media circus.

A public appearance by Mr Blair before the Chilcot inquiry would also damage his ambitions of becoming EU president, a role that needs the support of European countries that opposed the war.

(snip)
Now, in a fresh twist, it has emerged that Mr Blair intervened to influence the PM's decision.

It is understood that Mr Blair did not ask Mr Brown directly but through intermediaries, who asked Sir Gus O'Donnell, the Cabinet Secretary, to urge the Prime Minister to hold a secret inquiry.

Downing Street sources were quoted last week as saying the Prime Minister had considered holding it in public, and Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary and a close ally of Mr Brown, said he backed a more "open" inquiry.

The revelation will raise further questions over Mr Brown's authority and suggests how keen he is not to upset Mr Blair and his allies. It came as Mr Brown told The Guardian yesterday that he could "walk away from all of this tomorrow", in a sign of the intense pressure he is under. But Mr Blair's intervention also reveals how senior Brownites have been scrambling to distance themselves from the controversial decision.

[ThirdWorldJohn]

1. Blair's role in the Iraq war was led by his religious beliefs just like Bush. so he claims. n/t