PM and aide decline select committee appearance over Iraq role

Tuesday, 10 June 2003 12:00 AM

Spin supremo, Alastair Campbell, the PM's director of communications, and the PM himself have both refused to give evidence to an influential select committee on whether the government deliberately 'sexed up' intelligence reports on Iraq's capacity to launch WMD strikes within 45 minutes, prior to the US-led war against Saddam Hussein's regime.

Both will decline the invite to address the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, which oversees intelligence reporting, the PM's official spokesman said, as there was no clear 'precedent' for the appearance.

Iain Duncan Smith, leader of the Conservatives has asked the PM to clarify whether Mr. Campbell would be giving evidence.

The Tory leader wrote in a letter addressed to the PM: 'It would be quite incredible if any inquiry into Downing Street's use of intelligence material did not take evidence from Mr Campbell who, as Government director of communications and strategy, is associated with every allegation and oversaw all the information released by the Government in the run-up to the war.'

Others have called for a full independent inquiry into why the government plagiarised material from the internet and a 12-year-old PhD thesis written by a student in the US in the so-called 'dodgy dossier.'

Separately, the PM will meet members of the Intelligence and Security Committee at Downing Street today, after they publish their annual report on MI5, MI6 and GCHQ.

The British Government should never have published its controversial second dossier on Iraq's weapons, Home Secretary David Blunkett has said.

The PM has pledged to appear every six months before the foreign affairs liaison committee, composed of all Commons committee chairmen, to answer questions on any subject.

Mr. Blair is due to meet the chairmen on July 7.

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