Iraq enquiry: 'Blair may have lost vote if case for war was based on toppling Saddam'

Published on Sunday 13 December 2009 21:52

TONY Blair may have lost the crucial Commons vote on the Iraq war if he had admitted at the time that he wanted to depose Saddam Hussein regardless of whether or not he had weapons of mass destruction, the Defence Secretary said yesterday.

Bob Ainsworth – deputy chief whip at the time of the vote in March 2003 – said it was impossible to know what would have happened if the argument for military action had been put in a different way.

His comments came after Mr Blair said he believed it still would have been right to take military action even if it had been known at the time Saddam did not have WMD, though a different justification would have had to be found.

Mr Ainsworth said that he did not know what impact that would have had on the Commons vote on 18 March.

"I don't know what the situation would have been if those arguments had been put differently," he said. "That is a parallel universe that didn't exist.

"I supported the war in Iraq based on the arguments that were put at the time and a big part of those arguments was – and I firmly believed that they existed – was the existence of WMD at that time."

Asked if he was surprised by Mr Blair's remarks, Mr Ainsworth replied: "A little bit." Asked if they were a mistake, he said: "I don't know."

Labour backbencher Andrew Mackinlay last night revealed Mr Blair had given him a personal assurance on the eve of the crucial Commons vote that if Saddam had given up his WMD President Bush had said there would no invasion. Mr Mackinlay, who was deciding which way to vote, said that he and another Labour MP were invited by Mr Blair to his office in the House of Commons in an attempt to win his support.

Mr Blair is due to give evidence to the official Chilcot Inquiry into the war in the new year.

Conservative leader David Cameron said it was essential that as much as possible of his evidence was heard in public after claims that key elements would be held behind closed doors.

One Sunday newspaper reported that details of Mr Blair's discussions with President George Bush would be dealt with in private for reasons of national security and to protect Britain's relations with the US.

"Tony Blair will need to answer for himself but I am sorry that all his evidence seems to be going to be carried in secret," Mr Cameron said. "Some parts of his evidence perhaps should be in secret if they're going to reveal important national security points, but I think a lot could be done in public and should be done in public."

However, a spokesman for the Chilcot Inquiry insisted the former prime minister would face extensive questioning in public.

"Mr Blair will be appearing very much in public and will be questioned in detail on a wide range of issues surrounding Britain's involvement in Iraq," he said.

"We have said right from the start that he will be a key figure in the inquiry. Mr Blair has said that he is ready and willing to give evidence in public."

Under the procedures adopted by Sir John Chilcot, the retired Whitehall mandarin heading the inquiry, it is intended that most evidence will be taken in public although there is a provision for closed hearings to cover issues concerning national security or secret intelligence.

So far the only witness who it has been confirmed will give evidence in a private session is Sir John Scarlett, the former MI6 chief and chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, who drew up the Government's controversial Iraq dossier and who appeared in public last week.

It is understood no decision has been taken on whether there will be a closed session with Mr Blair.