Sign in / up

back to article Government told: Release secret Iraq documents

The Information Commissioner Richard Thomas has told the government that it should release draft versions of a dossier about Iraq's supposed weapons of mass destruction and comments made on it by spy chiefs. The Hutton Inquiry resulted in much of the dossier, prepared for the Joint Intelligence Committee, being made public. …

COMMENTS

House rules Send corrections
This topic is closed for new posts.
  1. Anonymous Coward
    Pirate

    Here's how I see it...

    ... Blair claimed there were WMDs that could be deployed against Britain within 45 minutes, so he's either a liar or incompetent (or both).

    If I were about to commit our armed forces to invade a foreign country I would want to know what weapons that country has and the capabilities of those weapons. Blair has since said he was not told the 45 minutes claim was only for battlefield munitions. If he didn't bother to ask the basic questions about what sort of weapons could be deployed against Britain and its troops then he is guilty of sheer incompetence.

    On the other hand, if he did know all of this and yet still repeated the 45 minute claim then he is a liar. Since we know no-one has been fired for not telling him the 45 minute claim was only for battlefield weapons I think we can safely assume he's a liar.

    So take your pick, either way he's still guilty of participating in an illegal war.

    0 0
  2. Anonymous Coward
    Pirate

    Killed himself?

    or was he hushed up to discourage anyone else thinking of speaking out. The whole episode stinks and Labour needs to be punished for it.

    0 0
  3. Nick Kew
    Pirate

    Competition: fill in the redacted bits

    Will El Reg bring us this event? And perhaps an associated wiki?

    1 0
  4. Simon.W
    Joke

    Do those documents still exist?

    I seem to remember that the night before the FOI Act became live lots of civil servants got paid overtime to stay up late and create sh(r)ed loads of cat litter and hamster bedding.

    0 0
  5. Neil Hoskins

    This is all so unnecessary.

    The fact that the critical meeting of the JIC was actually chaired by the Prime Minister's chief propagandist speaks for itself. No further analysis is required.

    0 0
  6. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    @ Do those documents still exist?

    I can second that. In the department I worked in staff went through files shredding 'till the cows came home. The maxim in operation was: If it doesn't exist, there's nothing to give out.

    Since FoI came in, I know government depts have been working on ways to have information without actually having it (if you see what I mean...)

    Coat: Mines the one with the collar turned up to hide my identity....

    0 0
  7. Steve King

    Paitence Pays

    Don't worry, the whole thing will soon be for sale on eBay!

    0 0
  8. Flocke Kroes Silver badge

    Publish the draft as is

    Cabinet Office claims that publication of one half-sentence would damage "the trust within which confidential exchanges between the United Kingdom and other Governments takes place"

    Please can we damage this trust. We do not need "confessions" signed because of threats of more torture.

    0 0
  9. Anonymous Coward
    Black Helicopters

    Kelly

    I never believed that Kelly did it to himself.

    0 0
  10. Gordon Stewart

    @Killed himself?

    Indeed. I don't think anyone really believes he killed himself...

    0 0
  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    did

    did anyone ever believe the claims in the dossier? I mean seriously, what the shit? 45 minute claim at the time made me laugh so hard I pooped a little.

    0 0

  12. This post has been deleted by its author

  13. Dodgy Geezer Silver badge
    Black Helicopters

    Who are the guilty men?

    "...or was he hushed up to discourage anyone else thinking of speaking out. The whole episode stinks and Labour needs to be punished for it..."

    Um. This assumes that the Government were in charge. I suspect, if we were ever to find out the truth, that a few people in the Government were pushing the policy of 'close coperation with whatever America wants' because they were being 'advised' by senior figures in the Intelligence Services, anxious for a larger role in world affairs after their original role of 'standing up to Russia' had crumbled ten years earlier.

    This sorry mess has all the characteristics of a 'folie a deux'. I think it will be instructive to try to figure out who was leading whom when the time comes for punishment....

    0 0
  14. w lutchman

    Of course he lied

    St Antony knew exactly what he was doing when he lied and lied, again and again. Ask yourselves this:

    How much does an ex PM make per annum?

    How many (£Ms) mortgages did TB end up taking out while he was PM?

    The only way to meet those payments and maintain a lavish lifestyle was to have his head up corporate America's ass - yes, even taking into account his wife's earnings; and keeping in with W's hare brained misadventures wouldn't go amiss - how soon after leaving office was he appointed (bear with me - I'm going to have difficulty keeping a straight face while type this) Middle East peace ambassador?

    Our soldiers are not dying in vain - they are dying so he can pay off his mortgages.

    As they say across the channel "cherchez le dosh".

    0 0
  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @Nik Kew

    Are they still making Have I Got News For You? You should probably pass the idea on to them. It sounds like it's right up their alley..

    0 0
  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    nu labour new coronor legislation

    The Secretary of State will reserve the right to prohibit an inquest taking place.

    0 0
  17. The Other Steve
    Black Helicopters

    Damage ...

    "...the trust within which confidential exchanges between the United Kingdom and other Governments takes place"

    Meaning that the half sentence was basically something like "...because Dick Cheney says so."

    The first half being "It is incumbent upon Her Majesties government to invade Iraq..."

    Go Home, ya bums, Go Home.

    0 0
  18. Dinsdale Piranha
    Coat

    WMD?

    Er, I'm pretty sure sure it's impossible to commit MASS destruction with a battlefield munition - otherwise a machine gun would be a wmd. Blair lied and lied again.

    0 0
  19. Richard
    Dead Vulture

    Richard Thomas

    If I were him, I'd avoid going for walks in woods in the future.

    0 0
  20. Anonymous Coward
    Black Helicopters

    pop pop

    I hear a .22 is the weapon of choice :)

    0 0
This topic is closed for new posts.

Other stories you might like