CHILCOT EXPOSES LABOUR LIES ON IRAQ INVASION

CHILCOT EXPOSES LABOUR LIES ON IRAQ INVASION

“NO-ONE CAN BELIEVE A WORD LABOUR SAY ABOUT ANYTHING ANY MORE”

SNP Westminster Leader and Defence Spokesperson, Angus Robertson MP, has today (Thursday) slammed the UK Government and said “no-one can believe a word Labour says about anything anymore” after the latest evidence session of the Chilcot Inquiry exposed yet more lies told in the run up to the Iraq invasion.

The Inquiry heard from Admiral Lord Boyce, the head of the Armed Forces in the run up to the invasion, who suggested that despite Tony Blair’s insistence, the UK would not take part in any military action unless the UN process had been exhausted, American military chiefs including Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, always assumed the UK would be involved.

Lord Boyce revealed that covert planning of a military operation began immediately after Tony Blair’s meeting with President Bush at Crawford in 2002. He also noted that shortcomings in this planning process meant that one British Army brigade - 7th Armoured Brigade - only reached full military readiness the day before the Iraq invasion

Lord Boyce also made it clear to the Inquiry that he had questioned the legality of the invasion.

Sir Kevin Tebbit, who was permanent secretary at the Ministry of Defence, said that the oil reserves in the North of the country were a major concern in planning for invasion.

Commenting, Mr Robertson said:

“Chilcot is proving no-one can believe a word Labour says about anything anymore.

“Their now discredited lies about weapons of mass destruction were just a front. Tony Blair was Bush’s poodle – entering an illegal war for oil, not international security.

“Sir Kevin Tebbit said the Treasury had “never withheld specific funds” so there can be no doubt that Gordon Brown was privy to these secretive discussions. The case for the Prime Minister to appear alongside Tony Blair is undeniable.

"This inquiry will be judged on the answers that it provides and the public deserve to hear the real story about a war fought in their name from the men who took us there."