Correspondence between the Chairman of
the Committee, the Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth
Office and the Director of Communications and Strategy, 10 Downing
Street
Letter to the Director of Communications and Strategy,
10 Downing Street, from the Chairman, Foreign Affairs Committee,
19 June 2003
As you know, we are looking into the decision
by the Government to go to war in Iraq. We have been looking in
detail at various documents including "Iraq's Weapons of
Mass Destruction" published in September 2002 and "Iraq—Its
Infrastructure of Concealment, Deception and Intimidation"
published in January 2003.
Your name has been specifically linked to the
first of these documents, in evidence to the Committee today,
as seeking amendments.
When the second document was first published
on the internet, the names of the authors were listed and three
of the four names given are of people who work directly for you.
In the circumstances the Committee wants to
take evidence from you in relation to these two documents as part
of this inquiry. Our Clerk will be contacting your office today
to arrange with you a mutually convenient time next week for you
to give evidence to us.
Chairman
Foreign Affairs Committee
19 June 2003
Letter to the Secretary of State, Foreign and
Commonwealth Office from the Chairman, Foreign Affairs Committee,
19 June 2003
As you have no doubt heard through the media,
we have been taking valuable evidence over the last three days
in our inquiry on the Decision to go to War in Iraq. A large number
of issues have arisen during these sessions which we feel it imperative
to discuss with you in our public evidence session on Tuesday
24 June. The Committee fears, however, that the one and half hours
allotted to this meeting will not be sufficient to tackle all
the matters we need to discuss in public. I am therefore writing
to ask if we could extend the session by half an hour, either
starting earlier or finishing later.
I am conscious of how generous you have already
been with your time, especially for the private meeting on Friday,
but am sure you will understand this request, given the gravity
of the matter under investigation. I look forward to your reply.
Chairman
Foreign Affairs Committee
19 June 2003
Letter to the Chairman, Foreign Affairs Committee
from the Director of Comunications and Strategy, 10 Downing Street,
20 June 2003
Thank you for your letter of June 19. I discussed
it with the PM last night and as you may know, he has asked the
Foreign Secretary to reply. I understand Jack will be in touch
shortly, if he has not already been so.
Director of Communications and Strategy
10 Downing Street
20 June 2003
Letter to the Chairman of the Committee from the
Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 20 June 2003
Thank you for your letter of 19 June. As the
FCO's Parliamentary Department have already told your Clerk, I
gladly agree to extend my public evidence session on Tuesday 24
June by half an hour, starting at noon and finishing now at 2:00pm.
You also wrote on 19 June to Alastair Campbell
asking him to appear before the Foreign Affairs Committee. The
Prime Minister has asked me to reply.
As you know we discussed this when I met the
Committee on 10 June. I made clear (as did the Prime Minister
on 11 June in the House) that the long-standing convention is
that Downing Street officials do not appear at Select Committees
to discuss their work and role in Number 10. I had the impression
that there was wide understanding within your Committee as to
the reasons for this convention. (There has been one occasion
when Mr Campbell gave evidence to the Public Administration Select
Committee to assist their inquiry into the review of the Government
Information Service; this did not relate to his position as the
Prime Minister's Director of Communications and Strategy. Mr Campbell
gave evidence as a member of the Government review team.)
As you know, the Intelligence and Security Committee
is doing its own inquiry into the issues you raise and the Prime
Minister has made clear that the government will co-operate fully
with that inquiry.
I hope that I will be able to answer all your
questions on this during the evidence sessions that you will have
with me and the relevant FCO officials; where necessary I shall
of course be happy to provide supplementary written memoranda.
Secretary of State
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
20 June 2003
Letter to the Chairman of the Committee from the
Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 23 June 2003
I wrote to you on Friday last, 20 June, informing
you of the decision about Mr Alastair Campbell's attendance before
your Committee.
Over the weekend I have read most of the transcripts
of evidence so far given to your Committee in respect of this
inquiry. In addition, there was a newspaper report yesterday about
the Committee's inquiries so far which refers to earlier reports
specifically claiming that the second dossier placed in the Library
of the House on 3 February had been produced for Mr Campbell by
four individuals, three of whom worked for Mr Campbell. Mr Campbell
will want to tell the Committee that this was not the case and
would like to explain the background.
In view of the focus of part of the evidence
on issues of communications policy for which Mr Campbell had responsibility
as Chair of the cross-departmental Iraqi Communications Group,
and also because on these specific allegations about the provenance
of the second dossier, the Prime Minister and I have now reviewed
the position. We have agreed that Mr Campbell should exceptionally
give evidence to your Committee. I should make it clear that,
throughout, Mr Campbell himself has wanted to appear before the
Committee to rebut the serious allegations that have been made
by journalists and others in relation to both dossiers. The concern
which the Prime Minister and I had was not ad hominem, but about
the wider principle, which I know that in general your Committee
appreciates, that staff (whether civil servants or special advisers)
working in a personal capacity to the Prime Minister or Ministers
should not be required to give evidence to Select Committees.
We are however persuaded that there are sufficient special circumstances
here—in particular his cross-departmental role on Iraq communications—for
Mr Campbell's appearance which do not set a wider precedent. I
very much hope that your Committee will respect this.
For your Committee's convenience Mr Campbell
is preparing a written statement of evidence. I will let you have
this once it is ready.
Secretary of State
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
23 June 2003
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