Iraq inquiry must be about more than Gordon Brown's woes

9.30.00am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 11th Jun 2009

Liberal Democrats at the London rally against war in Iraq

Liberal Democrat Shadow Foreign Secretary Edward Davey has written to David Miliband to demand genuine cross-party consultation on any Iraq inquiry which the Government brings forward.

The call comes in response to media reports that an inquiry could be announced this week and stresses the need for a genuinely transparent process, centred on the high-level political decisions taken in the run-up to the war.

Edward Davey said; "The Iraq war was the worst British foreign policy disaster since Suez. The scale, scope and conduct of an inquiry must reflect this, not merely the political woes of Gordon Brown."

The Liberal Democrat Shadow Foreign Secretary went on to say; "The country simply will not stand another whitewash on Iraq. With trust in Government and Parliament at an all-time low, there is no alternative but for unprecedented transparency and consensus in the conduct of this inquiry."

Ed concluded; "It is extremely worrying that decisions appear to have already been made, without any discussion in Parliament or correspondence between our parties."