Straw: Iraq war was down to me
By Alex Stevenson and Ian Dunt Britain’s military involvement in the Iraq war could not have taken place without Jack Straw’s support, the former foreign secretary has claimed. Mr Straw told the inquiry in a lengthy written memorandum he did not believe British military involvement would have been possible without his backing because it would […]
Brown offers himself up for pre-election Iraq grilling
By Ian Dunt Gordon Brown’s may appear before the Iraq inquiry before the general election, it emerged today. The prime minister had previously hidden behind the inquiry’s decision to only call him after the election as a reason for not attending before the country went to the polls. But during PMQs today he revealed he […]
Flights from Yemen flights grounded
By politics.co.uk staff All flights from Yemen to the UK have been grounded with immediate effect, the prime minister announced this afternoon. Making a statement on counter-terrorism to the Commons after PMQs today, Gordon Brown updated MPs on actions taken since the failed attack on a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day. A raft of new […]
Hoon opposed army overstretch
By Alex Stevenson Increasing pressures on Britain’s armed forces led Geoff Hoon to oppose major reinforcements in Afghanistan before UK troops left Iraq. The former defence secretary, who served in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) from 2001 to 2005, told the Iraq inquiry the armed forces had been forced to rely on ‘urgent operational requirements’ […]
Sketch: Who’s Hoon?
Most men would be content with removing the leaders of totalitarian Middle Eastern states. Not Geoff Hoon, who has recently felt the need to attempt to topple prime ministers of well-established democracies. By Alex Stevenson The MP for Ashfield has had a political career full of ups and downs. His role in the successful 2003 […]
Analysis: The Afghanistan fightback
Gordon Brown appears to be winning the political war for support on Afghanistan – for now. By Alex Stevenson Things weren’t so rosy in the summer, when public confidence in the war effort was battered down by a brutally unfortunate double-whammy of stories. Firstly, the government appeared overwhelmed by accusations it was not providing British […]
Feature: Iraq’s unfinished business
Iraq remains one of the bloodiest countries in the world. As Afghanistan increasingly monopolises the front pages, is the west becoming complacent about this deeply unstable state? By Alex Stevenson Less than eight hours after this feature was originally published Baghdad was devastated by what looks like a coordinated attack. Four separate car bombings, occurring […]
Analysis: Same old trouble-making Iran
We’ve been here before. Don’t underestimate Iran’s enthusiasm for trouble-making. By Alex Stevenson “They should not be under any doubt at all about how seriously we regard this act which was unjustified and wrong.” Those words could easily be placed into the mouth of foreign secretary David Miliband in response to the arrest of five […]
Analysis: A weak, but still worthy, Iraq inquiry
Gordon Brown’s political instincts were working well when he attempted to keep the Iraq inquiry private. It took less than half an hour before uncomfortable truths began to emerge. By Alex Stevenson The prime minister’s initial proposal was that the entirety of Sir John Chilcot’s work would be carried out behind closed doors. A huge […]
Iraq inquiry
The inquiry into the Iraq war, and the events leading up to it, will begin this week. Its report is not expected until after the general election, leading to criticism that the government is unwilling to face the repercussions of the report until the election is safely behind it. Thousands of pages of evidence have […]
