Straw 'must give evidence to Inquiry'
A Tory MP today demanded to know why Foreign Secretary Jack Straw had not appeared before the Hutton Inquiry.
Shadow foreign office minister Alan Duncan said Mr Straw may hold important information for the inquiry into the death of weapons expert Dr David Kelly.
He said: “Everyone watching the Hutton Inquiry is astonished that Jack Straw has made no personal contribution to it.
“He was one of the major players in the run-up to war, much of the intelligence community is answerable to him and he must have known – or at least should have known – all that was going on.
“Given the evidence that emerged yesterday it is difficult to see how the inquiry can cover all the ground without the Foreign Secretary himself volunteering evidence on it.”
Mr Duncan has written to Mr Straw to ask why he has not given a written statement to the inquiry.
He wrote: “Given your role in promoting the September dossier before the United Nations, before Parliament and to the British people via the media this appears to be a serious omission on your part. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is after all the lead policy department for weapons proliferation and Dr Kelly was employed by the FCO.”
Mr Duncan noted an “obvious contradiction” between evidence Mr Straw gave the Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) regarding the September intelligence dossier, and evidence given to the Hutton Inquiry yesterday.
Mr Duncan said Mr Straw’s claim to the FAC that there were no complaints from senior intelligence officials about documents used in the dossier was contradicted by evidence given to the inquiry by senior intelligence sources yesterday.
Mr Duncan wrote: “Surely it is now time for you to help Lord Hutton with his inquiry and clarify your role in the preparation of the dossier and the naming of Dr Kelly?”
