Iraq War Inquiry

Sir John Chillcot and his team are making a very good start. Complaints have been made by the legal profession that there are no barristers allowed in this inquiry and the usual adversarial ding dong so much and wrongly admired as a route to truth, is missing. It is precisely because the method is inquisitorial that it is working so well. Questions are searching for answers rather than clever and witnesses have been much more forthcoming than is the case when they face cross examination. Already we begin to see that many of our fears for the integrity of the war and honest governance are justified.

In my book I am very critical of the record of Public Inquiries,  their failure to arrive at robust conclusions and their gravy train of lawyers’ fees. I propose a good many changes. Chillcot is much nearer the mark.