Rendel Comments On Iraq

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 9th Jul 2003

Commenting on the publication of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee's Report on the decision to go to war against Iraq, David Rendel MP said:

"I and my Liberal Democrat colleagues voted against military action in Iraq. Recent developments suggest that we were right to be sceptical.

"The questions that the Government has ducked are far more important than the unedifying squabble between Alistair Campbell and the BBC. There are serious concerns about the way information from the intelligence services was conveyed to MPs, and whether it was misrepresented as grounds for war.

"Did the basis on which Britain went to war meet the requirements of the United Nations Charter; in short did Iraq pose an urgent and imminent threat to the United Kingdom? The Government's case is still not proven.

"We must have an independent inquiry, chaired by a senior judge, to investigate the whole course of events that led to the UK's involvement in the war, and the basis upon which the Prime Minister, and ultimately the House of Commons, made the decision to support military action.

"Two further points are vital. We must fulfil our obligations to the people of Iraq, by restoring peace and security and by providing adequate humanitarian and reconstruction aid. I raised this point with the Prime Minister at Question Time just before the war started. He assured me that sufficient funds would be available for reconstruction. Sadly, the reality is that we have not yet seen significant improvements on the ground.

"Second, we must work to support the United Nations as a central body for the preservation of peace and international law."