PM urged to adopt belligerent stance amid “media frenzy”
The PM’s director of communications Alastair Campbell encouraged Tony Blair to be “more combative” in confronting critics at odds with the rationale for war against Iraq, the Hutton inquiry has revealed.
The Hutton inquiry published on Saturday more than 6,000 documents on the internet, covering statements from the Ministry of Defence, the BBC, the government, the foreign affairs committee and various newspapers.
Found among the voluminous entries is a note from Mr Campbell instructing Mr Blair how to manage concerns from backbenchers ahead of a statement to the Commons on the Iraq war.
He was told in a briefing note to be “calm, confident, explanatory and thorough” in addressing questions on the absence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
He was advised to claim “nothing improper took place” regarding the affairs of intelligence services.
Mr Campbell also argued the PM ought to stress before MPs that his government did the “right thing” in committing troops into Iraq.
Mr Campbell advised: “What is clearly happening here is that the relatively more sober coverage of the war is giving way to the more usual frenzied media, and the aim of our opponents is to contaminate the success you had as a war leader in Iraq.
“So those who opposed you then want to justify the opposition then – that goes for some of our MPs, BBC, the left-leaning press. Those who supported you, like the right-wing press, want to look for reasons to regret their support and detach you from Bush.”
Mr Blair himself will appear before the Hutton Inquiry on Thursday, where he will be quizzed about his role in the events leading up to the apparent suicide of Iraqi weapons expert Dr David Kelly.
On Tuesday, John Scarlett, the chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, writer of the September dossier, will give evidence.
And on Wednesday, beleaguered Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon will make his presentation.
The Hutton inquiry’s website can be found at http://www.the-hutton-inquiry.org.uk/
