Tories quit WMD intelligence inquiry

• Tory party withdraws support for inquiry into intelligence leading up to Iraq invasion

• Michael Howard believes he was misled about inquiry's scope

• Tory representative is still to serve on the inquiry in a 'personal capacity'

• Government under pressure to disclose advice given to ministers before the war

Key quote: "It has become clear that Lord Butler has chosen to interpret his terms of reference in what I regard as an unacceptably restrictive fashion." Michael Howard's letter to the Prime Minister

Story in full: THE INQUIRY called by Tony Blair into failings of British intelligence in the run-up to war was stripped of its bipartisan support yesterday after the Conservative Party withdrew its support.

Michael Howard, the Tory leader, said he now agrees with the Liberal Democrats that Lord Butler’s investigation will be a whitewash solely intended to exonerate the government.

However the party said that Michael Mates, the former Tory minister, has refused to stand down - and said he will serve in a "personal capacity" rather than refuse to take up the seat which Mr Blair allocated for the Tories and the Lib Dems.

Mr Howard said his sudden U-turn was in protest at the "unacceptably restrictive" way Lord Butler had chosen to interpret the inquiry’s terms of reference - and his decision to focus on structures, rather than people.

Charles Kennedy, the Lib Dem leader, slated the Tories’ late decision to withdraw from the inquiry as "a farce" - arguing that Mr Howard was only now realising what his party had grasped immediately.

Sir Menzies Campbell, the Lib Dems’ foreign affairs spokesman, added it was "one of the most embarrassing climb-downs by the leader of any major political party in recent times".

Mr Mates had been made a member of the Privy Council specifically to be granted access to sensitive intelligence information as part of the inquiry team. Such status is normally granted for life and Mr Mates was known to be delighted at the unexpected honour.

The Lib Dems have refused to take up the seat which had been allocated to them on the Butler Inquiry. The Scottish National Party was not offered a seat - but said it would reject an offer if it was made.

Mr Howard said that, although he nominated Mr Mates for the committee, he could not order him to stand down. "This is entirely a matter for Michael Mates," he said.

In his letter to Mr Blair, the Tory leader claimed he had been fundamentally misled when the Butler Inquiry was first convened last month. "We agreed the terms of reference for the inquiry and I was satisfied that they provided a basis for a full and proper investigation," he said.

"It has since become clear, however, that Lord Butler has chosen to interpret his terms of reference in what I regard as an unacceptably restrictive fashion."

Alex Salmond, the SNP leader, said he was surprised at the Tories’ failure to realise at once that Mr Blair was planning a whitewash. "Michael Howard used to be thought of as an unappealing, but at least astute, politician. Now, even his supposed shrewdness must be questioned," he said.

The issue of the legality of the war in Iraq is rapidly becoming the government’s Achilles heel, with Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, also under pressure yesterday to authorise full disclosure of the advice given to ministers before the invasion began.

Fending off questions, Mr Straw said: "What I suggest that people concentrate on is looking at the case for military action, the reason why all of us - the whole of the international community - said that Saddam Hussein posed a threat to international peace and security under Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter."

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said that the Butler Inquiry would continue its work even though it had lost the support of the Tories.

Lord Butler, the former head civil servant under John Major and during the opening months of Mr Blair’s government, has been denounced as an establishment crony since he was chosen by 10 Downing Street to lead the inquiry three weeks ago.

Mr Blair said at the time he wanted to mirror the all-party Franks Inquiry which followed the Falklands War. Its remit was to investigate "any discrepancies between the intelligence gathered, evaluated and used by the government".

The Tories believed that any inquiry had to examine whether people in 10 Downing Street exerted pressure on intelligence officers.

But Lord Butler said after his appointment that he intended to focus "principally on structures, systems and processes rather than on the individuals". In a meeting with Mr Howard two weeks ago, he confirmed there would be no pursuit of Downing Street - as the Lib Dems had originally suspected.

While Lord Butler is expected to report this summer, little is expected from his findings. Opposition parties now place more hope in a parallel inquiry being held in the United States.

Mates reluctant to give up his rehabilitation

MICHAEL MATES is understandably reluctant to give up his seat on Lord Butler’s inquiry. The invitation has been something of a rehabilitation for the MP sacked for his links to Asil Nadir, the fugitive businessman.

His journey out from the political cold comes at the age of 67 - and at the behest of Tony Blair. The Prime Minister wanted establishment figures to fill an establishment inquiry, knowing that loyalty to the army and the security services normally cuts deeper than party political allegiance.

Mr Blair even agreed to make Mr Mates a Privy Councillor to the Queen specifically so that he could sit on Lord Butler’s inquiry - knowing that he had found the perfect Tory.

Mr Mates is not only a fan of the British intelligence he would be investigating, but owes his life to it after serving as a Northern Ireland minister before the IRA ceasefire. The same, incidentally, was true for Lord Hutton (former Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland) and Butler committee member Sir John Chilcot, chief mandarin in Belfast from 1990 to 1997.

Mr Mates, a former lieutenant-colonel in the Queen’s Dragoon Guards, became a household name when he admitted giving Mr Nadir a watch inscribed with "Don’t let the buggers get you down". Being appointed to the committee on the Butler Inquiry is a welcome relief from this ignominy - and not one he was going to turn down easily.