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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Straw facing Iraq inquiry again | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Justice Secretary Jack Straw is giving evidence before the inquiry into the Iraq war for a second time. | |
| Questioning is likely to focus on legal issues in the run-up to the conflict when Mr Straw was Foreign Secretary. | Questioning is likely to focus on legal issues in the run-up to the conflict when Mr Straw was Foreign Secretary. |
| Mr Straw was a key figure consulted by Lord Goldsmith before the then attorney general changed his advice about the invasion's legality. | Mr Straw was a key figure consulted by Lord Goldsmith before the then attorney general changed his advice about the invasion's legality. |
| Previously, Mr Straw told the inquiry supporting the invasion had been the "most difficult decision" of his life. | Previously, Mr Straw told the inquiry supporting the invasion had been the "most difficult decision" of his life. |
| 'Indelible impression' | 'Indelible impression' |
| By his own account, Mr Straw played a pivotal role in the war - if he had objected, the UK would not have invaded Iraq. | By his own account, Mr Straw played a pivotal role in the war - if he had objected, the UK would not have invaded Iraq. |
| When Mr Straw's own legal adviser told him an invasion without a second UN resolution would amount to a crime of aggression, he rejected the advice. | When Mr Straw's own legal adviser told him an invasion without a second UN resolution would amount to a crime of aggression, he rejected the advice. |
| Former UN weapons inspector Hans Blix has told the BBC's Hardtalk programme that he was "puzzled" by Mr Straw's earlier evidence to the inquiry. | Former UN weapons inspector Hans Blix has told the BBC's Hardtalk programme that he was "puzzled" by Mr Straw's earlier evidence to the inquiry. |
| Mr Straw had told the panel that a report drawn up by Mr Blix on the eve of the war had "made an indelible impression" on him and that it "convinced me that Iraq's non-compliance with Security Council requirements going back to 1991 was profound". | Mr Straw had told the panel that a report drawn up by Mr Blix on the eve of the war had "made an indelible impression" on him and that it "convinced me that Iraq's non-compliance with Security Council requirements going back to 1991 was profound". |
| But Mr Blix said he found such a reaction "amazing" as "there was nothing sensationally new in that document". | But Mr Blix said he found such a reaction "amazing" as "there was nothing sensationally new in that document". |
| Three days before the conflict, Lord Goldsmith had wanted to tell ministers that the legal issues "were finely balanced". | Three days before the conflict, Lord Goldsmith had wanted to tell ministers that the legal issues "were finely balanced". |
| Mr Straw persuaded him not to, because of the problem of leaks from the cabinet. | Mr Straw persuaded him not to, because of the problem of leaks from the cabinet. |
| Lord Goldsmith has admitted to the inquiry that he changed his legal view of the Iraq war but said it was "complete nonsense" to claim he did so because of political pressure. | Lord Goldsmith has admitted to the inquiry that he changed his legal view of the Iraq war but said it was "complete nonsense" to claim he did so because of political pressure. |
| Until a month before the 2003 invasion, the ex-attorney general had believed it was "safer" to get a fresh UN resolution. | Until a month before the 2003 invasion, the ex-attorney general had believed it was "safer" to get a fresh UN resolution. |
| But he gave the "green light" after deciding force was justified by UN accords on Iraq dating back to 1991. | But he gave the "green light" after deciding force was justified by UN accords on Iraq dating back to 1991. |
| Resources warning | |
| On Monday morning, General Sir John McColl warned against the UK taking part in too many military operations as resources were limited. | |
| Gen McColl, the senior British military representative in Iraq from April to October 2004, said the armed forces had been stretched by simultaneous conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. | |
| "That is important from the point of view of prosecuting a successful campaign. It's also important from the point of view of supporting those that we have deployed. | |
| "As far as Iraq was concerned, clearly as Iraq was developing, Afghanistan was also developing. | |
| "There was a tension there, which affected the resourcing of those two theatres. I won't say any more than that, but I do think that we should be prioritising and sequencing rather than conducting perhaps too many operations." | |
| He also called for a single agency to bring together different departments of the government in future conflicts. | |
| "If we are to get these deployments properly co-ordinated on the ground, it requires a far more muscular central co-ordinating authority in order to be able to deliver that," he said. | |
| The full interview on Hardtalk can be seen on the BBC News Channel at 2330 GMT and on BBC World at 0430, 0930, 1530 and 2130 GMT on 8 February 2010. | The full interview on Hardtalk can be seen on the BBC News Channel at 2330 GMT and on BBC World at 0430, 0930, 1530 and 2130 GMT on 8 February 2010. |