Al-Jazeera boss wants answers to Bush memo
Arabic news channel al-Jazeera’s director general flew into the UK on Friday to demand the release of the memo in which US president George Bush allegedly discussed bombing the TV station’s Qatar headquarters.
On Tuesday, The Daily Mirror said it had access to a secret government memo suggesting Tony Blair had talked Mr Bush out of bombing al Jazeera’s headquarters in April last year.
Press reports suggested Wadah Khanfar wanted an “urgent meeting” with Mr Blair to hear whether the allegations had any credence.
Italian newspaper La Stampa quoted Mr Khanfar as saying: “We want to know whether Bush really did want to attack al-Jazeera last year and was dissuaded from doing so by the British prime minister, as the British press has claimed.
“We will be silent only when we get the truth.”
The White House dismissed the report, describing the claims as “outlandish”.
In the wake of the allegations, Lord Goldsmith, attorney-general, has ordered newspapers and broadcasters not to publish the contents of the memo, citing the Official Secrets Act.
Labour MP and ex-defence minister, Peter Kilfoyle, has tabled a Commons motion calling for it to be made public.
Washington accused al-Jazeera of being openly hostile to US foreign policy and a mouthpiece for al-Qaida.
