Hands up all those who are really looking forward to seeing Tony Blair in the dock – sorry I mean being questioned as a star witness – over the war in Iraq?
Blimey! I make that well over half the country. Brilliant, because it’s all going to be on telly, and our Tone is going to face a hot grilling from Sir John Chilcot, chairman of inquiry number three into the bloody conflict.
Yes, the THIRD inquiry. But at least it’s all being made public – or is it? Well, having read the small print I’m not so sure, because (surprise, surprise) some of the witnesses are apparently going to be allowed to give their testimonies behind closed doors – for the sake of national security and candour, according to Sir John.
Now, I think it is firmly in the public’s interest that we should be told who is going to determine the rules here. I suppose ultimately the buck stops with Prime Minister Gordon Brown – one of those who was against staging a public inquiry in the first place. Interesting!
The ‘behind closed doors’ element has created what could be described as ‘wriggling space’ for any witness who may suddenly suffer a bout of war nerves or even a mere wriggling attack!
What if we see a long and winding queue of witnesses, all claiming national security will be breached if their evidence is made public? Now that really would be a whitewash.
Fortunately, that is a matter which can be dealt with by a strong chairman, in this case Sir John. And if any of the witnesses – star or otherwise – should act out of line, there are four little words that always guarantee a huge reaction in behaviour: weapons of mass destruction.
Even more sensationally, the inquiry may hear new evidence from retired American microbiologist Richard Spertzel surrounding the mysterious death of weapons inspector Dr David Kelly.
In stark contrast to the finding of Lord Hutton’s inquiry that the 59-year-old took his own life, he claims that Dr Kelly was silenced by Iraqi spies over a plot to carry out gas attacks in Britain. Incredible!
Mind you, whatever happens, I’m still conjuring up visions of a rather uncomfortable Mr Blair under the TV spotlights, perhaps loosening his collar with a bead of sweat appearing on his brow – all in high definition. Magic!
