Plaid MP: ‘Embarrassment over Iraq inquiry must now give full answers and hold Government to account’

Plaid MPs have commented on today’s debate on the Iraq Inquiry that called for a wider and open investigation to be held rather than the closed inquiry put in motion by the Government last week.

The Opposition motion was narrowly defeated in the House of Commons – but has proved to be a controversial and embarrassing topic for Gordon Brown. It will undoubtedly continue to force the Government to backtrack even further on how the Iraq inquiry will be carried out.

During the debate, Plaid’s Adam Price MP called on the Government to submit itself to the scrutiny of the International Court of Justice, should the report find any misgivings about the legality of the war.

Plaid’s Adam Price MP said:

“The mere fact that this debate was held in the first place means that the Prime Minister is now forced to concentrate on giving evidence in public whereas a week or so ago, he was adamant that all would be in private.

“As welcome as it is, the Prime Minister is now responding to pressure by making yet another dramatic and embarrassing U-turn.

“It also doesn’t go far enough. Plaid Cymru has called for all the evidence to be made public except for that very minor percentage that could have an effect on national security.

“Otherwise in a few months time again, the argument will be raised that this exercise will have cost the taxpayer millions, and still won’t give the families of the bereaved the whole truth.

“This afternoon I called for a greater means of holding the Government accountable. I would stress again now that if the Government’s report raises doubts as to the legality of the Iraq war, then it is only right and fair that the Government should submit itself to the judicial scrutiny of the International Court of Justice.

“What is at stake here is not just the credibility of this Government but the credibility of Government itself and it is this which must be addressed. The failure of Government was a failure of Parliament. The 412 MPs that voted for the war showed poor judgment, and allowed their loyalty to party, to country, or to America override all other concerns.

“This must never be allowed to happen again and this is why Parliament must now make amends by stamping its authority on this inquiry.”

Plaid MP: ‘ UK Government should be accountable to International Court of Justice’

Plaid’s Adam Price MP will tomorrow call on the UK Government to submit itself to the will of the International Court of Justice should the Iraq inquiry raise doubts as to the legality of the Iraq war.

Tomorrow afternoon (Wednesday), the House of Commons will debate the manner in which the Iraq inquiry should be carried out, and specifically whether the Inquiry should commit itself to an open and public investigation.

The International Court of Justice is the judicial arm of the United Nations. The Court’s principle role is to settle legal disputes between states submitted to it by them and to give advice on specific legal matters referred to it. Only states, not individuals, are eligible to appear before the Court.

Commenting in advance of the debate, Adam Price MP said:

“If the Government’s report raises doubts as to the legality of the Iraq war, then it is only right and fair that the Government should submit itself to the judicial scrutiny of the International Court of Justice.

“It should then fully accept its findings and it should remain the prerogative of the Court to issue a judgement.

“In the meantime, the Government should also consider splitting the initial inquiry in two now - one to look into why we went to war, and another to investigate actions during the war.

“Since the Government announced the Inquiry to be launched, it has already backtracked and is now unclear how the Inquiry is intended to be carried out. Even the Head of the Inquiry, Sir John Chilcot, is urging for open and public hearings.

“This has gone on for far too long, and with a closed investigation, it may well drag on again before we hear the truth. There are still unanswered questions and challenges to be accounted for.

“If the Government is serious about the findings of this Inquiry too, then it should willingly submit itself to the scrutiny of a higher Court. Tomorrow’s debate will be testament to how much the Government respects the investigation.

“Plaid Cymru has long argued that a full and transparent inquiry must have full access to all information and paper trails. Now the UK Government has to show that it is accountable to the electorate, but also accountable to the world community.”