Untouchable: Blair to give Iraq War evidence in secret

Former PM was happy to discuss invasion with Fern Britton on TV show – but the Chilcot inquiry will hear his crucial testimony behind closed doors
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/untouchable-blair-to-give-iraq-war-evidence-in-secret-1839289.html

Key parts of Tony Blair's evidence to the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq War will be held in secret, sources close to the hearings revealed last night.

His conversations with President George Bush when he was prime minister, and crucial details of the decision-making process that led Britain into war, will fall under the scope of national security and the protection of Britain's relations with the US.

But there are also suggestions by well-placed sources that anything "interesting" will also be shrouded in secrecy, leaving his public appearance containing little more than is already known.

(snip)
The Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg last night condemned the move, saying if a significant proportion of Mr Blair's evidence were held in private then the public would "rightly conclude that the inquiry is simply too weak to give us the truth".

(snip)
"Tony Blair's breathtaking cynicism in stating that he would have found any old excuse to go to war simply underlines how vital it is that we hear his testimony in public.



Despicable means to a dead end
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-despicable-means-to-a-dead-end-1839319.html

Blair should answer to Britain, not Britton
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/alex-carlile-blair-should-answer-to-britain-not-britton-1839318.html