Good morning and welcome to day three of the Iraq inquiry. It’s probably safe to assume that today’s evidence may be rather different – in style at least – from what we’ve heard thus far.
Not least because the witness himself famously wrote that Number 10 told him on his appointment: “We want you to get up the arse of the White House and stay there.”
Sir Christopher Meyer served as British Ambassador to the United States between 1997 and 2003 and his tell-all book about the experience DC Confidential ruffled not a few Westminster collars.
One MP even tabled an early day motion deploring its “betrayal of trust in the promulgation of such scurrilous memoirs” that caused “real damage … to the essential relationships between ministers, diplomats, and their advisers.”
Suffice to say that this blogger at least does not expect a similar oeuvre from Sir William Ehrman (whose evidence yesterday is now online at iraqinquiry.org.uk/transcripts) on his retirement.
The title of today’s session is The Transatlantic Relationship and judging by DC Confidential it was a very special relationship. Of PM Blair’s first official trip to the US to meet President Clinton, Meyer wrote: “The whole No 10 team, from the PM down, pulsed with ill-suppressed excitement.”
In keeping with other disclosures in the memoir, your blogger promises to at least try to establish whether Sir Christopher is wearing his trademark red socks, although they’re less confident of being able to reveal if any of the committee are wearing “ball-crushingly tight dark-blue corduroys.”
Keep up to date here and via Twitter IraqInquiryBlog.
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Four hundred years ago it would have been the traitors who were subjected to the ball crushing. Perhaps the inquiry should be moved to the London Dungeon?
And if you’re checking out the committees’ trousers remember this is on camera and could give the wrong impression!
i watched some of the proceedings and thought sir Christopher Meyer was a rather self preening witness , who really put the boot into TB and his government.This one witness if correct , blows apart the governments ascertion of innocence
Special relationships that has just been one sided. I qualify this by saying not many Briish people know we have only recently paid of the mortage to the US for their help in WW2 with high interest. Part of this deal was tha instead of doing international trading in UK sterling, The US insisted that all tradng will be done in US dollars. So my friends yes there is a price for even friendship. This relationship has done nothing but cost us in the UK our global reputation and respect. Where at one time there was so much prestige reserved for anything British has eroded away and uncovered the lies we all knew Tony Blair was saying. This is a little scarey reminds me of Eastenders when a Lucas a religious nutter kills in the name of the Lord, and thinks he is allowed to becausehe is doing God’s work. yes that did remind me of Tony Blair.
1. Since 1990 first Gulf war ended with all Saddam’s WMDs destroyed.
2. It was known that Iraq bluffed about its weapons to deter enemies and keep prestige.
3. Daily bombing by US and UK air forces in the north and south, plus permanent satellite surveillance, for years before war, ensured that Iraq was contained and any movement of vehicles or munitions would have been spotted.
4. Intelligence was known by US and UK to have been fabricated to induce war.
5. Jewish Attorney General, Sir Peter Goldsmith, made an ambiguous case for war which was never explained.
6. Jewish Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw voted for war despite doubting the case.
7. Blair lied to make the case for war.
8. A trial is needed–not more inquiries.
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