Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Blair-Bush Iraq war transcript may be suppressed

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/jul/17/blair-bush-iraq-war-transcript
 
 
Blair-Bush Iraq war transcript may be suppressed
 
Government may block information tribunal ruling that ordered record of 
phone conversation to be released, sources confirm
 
An explosive transcript of one of Tony Blair's final conversations with 
George Bush before the invasion of Iraq may be suppressed by the 
coalition government, Whitehall sources have confirmed.
 
Dominic Grieve, the attorney general, believes there is "a case to 
answer" in favour of blocking an information tribunal ruling that 
ordered the former leaders' telephone exchange to be released in the 
public interest.
 
The then British prime minister and US president reportedly discussed 
the opposition of the the then French president, Jacques Chirac, to 
military action which he had voiced in a television interview two days 
earlier.
 
The proposed veto of the transcript's release would be discussed by the 
cabinet within weeks, sources confirmed. Blair and the current Labour 
leader, Ed Miliband, were asked their opinion on the proposal last week.
 
If the government halts publication it would be the third time the 
coalition has overruled an information tribunal ruling since January. 
This is despite promises from David Cameron and Nick Clegg that they 
would lead the most transparent government ever.
 
Clare Short, international development secretary at the time, said 
Greive's proposal was "truly shocking".
 
"We saw under Tony Blair that the position of the attorney general, in 
that case with Lord Goldsmith, had become increasingly politicised, and 
I hope we are not seeing the same now.
 
"I can only conclude that, by putting this to cabinet, the present 
government is trying to protect the right of future prime ministers to 
deceive the British people in the way that Blair did," she said.
 
Blair and Bush are believed to have talked on 12 March 2003 about the 
possibility of military action in Iraq without a promised second UN 
security council resolution backing such action. Blair has since 
repeatedly blamed Chirac for the failure to get a second resolution.
 
Four months ago, the information tribunal ruled that the government 
should disclose some of the conversation following a freedom of 
information request by Stephen Plowden, a private individual who 
requested disclosure of the entire conversation.
 
The Foreign Office lost an appeal against an order by the information 
commissioner, Christopher Graham, to disclose records of the 
conversation between the two leaders.
 
Judge John Angel, president of the information tribunal, said Foreign 
Office witnesses had downplayed the importance of a decision to go to 
war, a view the tribunal found "difficult to accept". The government was 
refused permission to appeal against the ruling.
 
Jack Straw, the then foreign secretary, claimed in evidence to the 
Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war that Chirac made it clear France would 
not back a fresh UN resolution "whatever the circumstances".
 
"I don't think there was any ambiguity."
 
The issue is important because the Blair government claimed Chirac's 
interview killed off all hope of a diplomatic solution.
 
Straw's claims were contradicted by Sir John Holmes, the then British 
ambassador to France. He told Chilcot that Chirac's words were "clearly 
ambiguous". One interpretation, Holmes said, was that Chirac was simply 
warning that France would veto a fresh UN resolution at that time as UN 
weapons inspectors had not been given a proper chance to do their job.
 
The government has been accused of abusing the use of ministerial vetoes 
over tribunal rulings, most recently in the rush to stop publication of 
a risk register assessment of the NHS reform bill.
 
The November 2010 Transition Risk Register set out internal government 
assessments of the risks posed by the NHS reforms in the Health and 
Social Care Act which became law in March after a tortuous passage 
through parliament.
 
The veto over information tribunal rulings was used twice between 2005 
and 2010; it has already been used twice this year.
 
In an interview with the Guardian, Graham voiced his concerns that 
Cameron's attitude towards freedom of information was encouraging civil 
servants to circumvent the law. He said the Coalition may be finding it 
difficult to deliver their plans for transparent government.
 
It was revealed on Monday that opposition in Whitehall to the disclosure 
of key documents relating to the invasion of Iraq, notably records of 
discussions between Blair and Bush, has meant the Chilcot inquiry will 
not now be able to publish its report for well over a year.
 
A spokeswoman for the attorney general's office declined to comment.
-- 
Namib
 
Necessaria sunt immutabilia (A. G. Baumgarten)
 

 Straw's claims were contradicted by Sir John Holmes
 
ROTFL
20  anni fa Woody diceva «La vita non imita l'arte, imita la cattiva
televisione».. Adesso imita i porno....