The basis for war against Iraq was based on lies. The intelligence service was complicit in misleading Parliament and the British public into war. The 45 minutes claim was a lie, the uranium from Niger was a lie, the existence of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) was a lie.
Too many innocent lives have been lost– Iraqi’s, British soldiers, civilians and that of Dr. David Kelly, all for an unnecessary, illegal and immoral war. Ministers must take responsibility for their actions and fall on their sword – they must be held to account. The civil service has been politicised – an untenable situation, therefore nothing short of a radical shake up of the British system of government is needed to restore accountability, independence, and democracy.
The British public and the rest of the world can not trust the government. An independent inquiry is needed to find out who, when and why the decision to take the UK to war against Iraq was taken. If the threat the British government purported about Saddam Hussein’s Weapons of Mass Destruction never existed, it may be fair to say other threats do not exist and are propagated by the government to defend the illogical, immoral and unnecessary nuclear weapons industry.
Carol Naughton, CND Chair said “It is apparent through all the lies and duplicity, that the government was hell bent on going to war with Iraq. CND exposed the immorality and illegality of this war, causing the government to spin even harder to persuade the public and parliament to support them. The whole episode is a tragedy and must never be allowed to happen again.”
Ends…//
Notes for Editors
1. For further information or interviews contact Ben Miller, Press Office – 020-7700-2350 or 07968-420-859 or CND Chair Carol Naughton 07736 – 698 – 702
2. CND formed in 1958 has expert knowledge on all nuclear issues.
3. CND was the first organisation to campaign against leading the UK to war with Iraq.