Tories press for Iraq inquiry
Hague calls for Iraq inquiry
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Monday, 11, Jun 2007 12:00
The Conservatives will renew calls for an inquiry into the Iraq war, as Gordon Brown arrives in Baghdad for his first visit since accepting the Labour leadership.
Shadow foreign secretary William Hague will use a Commons debate to push for a far-reaching inquiry into the Iraq war.
He has not set a deadline for such an inquiry, but has suggested it should take place before evidence is lost or forgotten.
Mr Hague will suggest an inquiry should be led by a cross-party group of senior politicians, who have the power to call other politicians, officials and military leaders.
The government has already avoided an official inquiry, after it defeated a previous Commons vote. Plaid Cymru and the SNP had urged MPs to back a full-scale inquiry.
However, the Liberal Democrats support an inquiry and it is possible a few backbench Labour MPs may vote with the Conservatives, meaning the Commons could accept the need in principle for an inquiry.
The government has hinted it will conduct a full inquiry, but not while UK troops are still deployed in Iraq. Downing Street insists it would be inappropriate to hold an inquiry while troops are still engaged in the country.
Mr Hague told the BBC the inquiry would be modelled on the Falklands inquiry, which was led by the philosopher Oliver Franks. He said existing inquiries into the Iraq war, including the Butler report and Hutton report, have been too narrowly focused.
The government justified the 2003 Iraq war on the grounds of Saddam Hussein's alleged weapons of mass destruction. However, after the invasion, no weapons were found and the government was forced to focus on the "liberation" of the Iraqi people.
Today, soon-to-be prime minister Gordon Brown arrived in Iraq for his first visit to Baghdad, accompanied by defence minister Des Browne.
Mr Brown is not expected to announce any change in policy on the back of this trip. A Ministry of Defence spokesman insisted he was there to "listen and learn" and find out more about the situation on the ground.
In an interview with the Independent, Conservative leader David Cameron said he did not support calls to pull troops out of Iraq immediately. Instead he argued for the need to strengthen the Iraqi army and transfer responsibility to the Iraqi government.