Shock & awe in British politics today when (as widely predicted) Robin Butler's "investigation" into the intelligence community and Blair's ludicrous WMD claims revealed nothing that wasn't already in the public domain.
Why would it? Butler is the man who declared disgraced Tory MP Neil Hamilton innocent, despite the dodgy cash bribes he received in plain brown envelopes from Mo Al-Fayed.
Butler also declared Johnathan Aitken innocent in another whitewash. Aitken, another disgraced Tory MP, was subsequently jailed for perjury, following revelations about more arms dealing, this time connected with the Saudis.
During the Scott inquiry (into covert British arms sales to our one-time best buddy...Saddam Hussein), it was Butler who said it was proper conduct for MPs to be "selective about the facts" and give "an answer that is not the whole truth".
More recently, Butler himself signed the Orders in Council that allowed party political appointess to give orders to civil servants. Hence it was he who allowed Alaistair Campbell (Blair's press secretary) & Johnathan Powell (Blair's chief of staff) to interfere with the provided intelligence (forcing the inclusion of the "45 minutes" nonsense).
Blair was his usual self in the Commons this afternoon. Instead of apologising, he argued, in mimicry of Bush's "for-us-or-against-us" hyperbole, that if you were against the invasion of Iraq, you must be a supporter of Saddam Hussein...
[sources: Paul Vallely in The Independent 10 July; Medialens.org 19 February]
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