Iraq inquiry: Straw says regime change 'never' UK plan
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Mr Straw has insisted that the UK was right to back Saddam Hussein's removal
Jack Straw has insisted that regime change in Iraq was "never" UK policy even though some within government may have wanted Saddam Hussein removed.
The former foreign secretary told the Iraq inquiry that such a policy would have been "palpably illegal" and he had made this clear to Tony Blair.
If Saddam agreed to co-operate and disarm, he would have "stayed in post".
Mr Straw is giving evidence for the third time in what is scheduled to be the last public hearing.
Mr Straw said toppling Saddam Hussein was "never an objective" as the UK considered how to deal with Iraq and escalating US demands for action during 2002.
He said he "categorically" told Mr Blair that regime change, as an end in itself, was "not a good idea" from a practical point of view and was clearly unlawful.
'Game change'"You could have the wish and desire to see regime change and within clear limits wanted to encourage that. But it could not be and was not an objective of British government policy," he said.
Continue reading the main storyTHE INQUIRY STORY SO FAR
- Gordon Brown announced the inquiry in June 2009, initially saying it should be held in private
- It is examining how the UK came to participate in military action to overthrow former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in March 2003
- It is also looking at the conduct of military operations and post-war planning
- 179 UK troops died in Iraq between 2003 and 2009 - when UK forces left the country
- 115 people have given evidence in public, including top politicians, civil servants, diplomats and military figures
- There have been more than 30 private hearings while other witnesses have given written evidence
- The inquiry was suspended between March and July 2010 for the general election
- Sir John Chilcot and his four panel members hope to complete their report as soon as possible
- The inquiry cost £2.2m up to March 2010
Momentum towards dealing with Iraq began in January 2002, Mr Straw said, when President George Bush included Iraq in a list of countries that he described as an "axis of evil".
"I could sense the game change that his statement led to," Mr Straw said, adding that he told Mr Blair of his reservations about the comments.
Although he had a "difference of emphasis" with Mr Blair about how to proceed against Iraq, he said he was "on the same page" as the prime minister in trying to get Iraq to comply through the UN and the US to agree to that.
The former foreign secretary is one of a handful of senior figures, including Mr Blair, to have been recalled to help the committee "fill gaps" in the evidence and clarify outstanding points.
Mr Straw was asked if he saw any of the private correspondence between Mr Blair and President Bush in the run-up to the war. Despite the inquiry's requests, this is not being published for national security reasons.
He said he saw some of Mr Blair's notes before he sent them and some afterwards, adding that the prime minister "took his own advice" when it came to their contents.
Mr Straw has said supporting the war had been the most "difficult decision" of his career but he believed action was justified due to the threat posed by Iraq.
He has said he ignored the views of a number of senior Foreign Office lawyers who advised the action was unlawful - preferring to rely on the advice of Attorney General Lord Goldsmith who took the contrary view.
'Different track'The inquiry was told by an anonymous official - whose identity was withheld for security reasons - that Mr Straw set out the option for the UK not to provide troops at a meeting with Mr Blair just before the conflict.
In this meeting, the official claimed, Mr Straw outlined what he saw as the "final opportunity" for the prime minister to "decide on a different track" which could lead to the UK "avoiding" participation in military action.
Mr Straw is expected to be the last witness to give evidence in public, bringing down the curtain on more than 100 public hearings which began in November 2009.
The inquiry is due to finish its work within the next couple of months and its chairman Sir John Chilcot has said he hopes to hand its completed report to the prime minister as soon as possible.
The inquiry has been seeking to establish when the UK committed itself to military action and why its efforts to secure further UN authorisation for the move in early 2003 failed.
It has also looked at the conduct of military operations during the conflict and planning for post-war Iraq.
Wednesday 2 February 2011
BBC News - Iraq inquiry: Straw says regime change 'never' UK plan
via bbc.co.uk
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