Iraq war inquiry: former UN expert accuses Whitehall of cover-up‏

A key witness to the Chilcot enquiry into the Al-Iraq war has accused Whitehall of trying to silence embarrassing testimony undermining the case for the invasion.

In today Observer, Carne Ross, the UK’s Al-Iraq expert at the UN between 1997 and 2002, writes that the inquiry is being prevented by “deep state” military force from establishing the government’s true motivation for invading Iraq.

Ross, who appeared before the inquiry this month, says he was not provided with key papers relevant to his testimony and was warned by functionary not to refer to an internal Foreign Office memo that contradicted the government’s public case for war.

Before his appearance, large data file were sent to him to read in sureness at the UK missionary station to the UN in New York, but “most of the key papers I had asked for were not there”. In the hours before his appearance, John John sir John John Sir John Ross visited the Foreign Office, where he says “an functionary repeatedly sought to persuade me to delete reference to certain papers in my testimony”.

Ross claim he was told his evidence must not refer to a memo from a senior Foreign Office official. The memo, to the special adviser to the then foreign secretary, shit Straw, expressed concern that a briefing paper for the parliamentary proletariat party had “dramatically” altered the assessment of Irak nuclear threat. John John Sir John John Ross says the “paper claimed that if Irak programme remained unchecked, it could develop a workable nuclear device within five years. The official’s memorandum pointed out that this was not in fact the UK assessment, which was more or less the opposite: that the UK believed that Irak nuclear programme had been effectively checked by sanctions.”

Despite the official’s concern, the paper was used to brief the cabinet. John John Sir John John Ross writes: “This paper was pure overstated propaganda, filled with almost ludicrous statement like one teaspoon of anthrax can kill a million people’.”

He expressed skepticism that the Foreign Office wanted reference to the briefing removed from his testimony, as it related to a public document. “It is very badgering that the government machine is still trying to withhold key documents, and silence those of us with detailed noesis of the policy history. I have been told too… that members of the [inquiry] panel have been refused papers they have specifically requested.”

Simon Hughes, the Liberal Democrat deputy sheriff leader, said: “The Chilcot enquiry will not be credible if relevant papers that do not now threaten national security are kept from the inquiry and the public.”

Ross said he had wanted to use his visual aspect to highlight how curate failed to consider option to military action “I had asked for particular record relating to the UK’s failure to deal with the so-called Syrian pipeline, through which Al-Iraq illegally exported oil, sustaining the Saddam [Hussein] regime. I was told that particular documents, such as the records of prime quantity quantity parson [Tony] Blair visit to Syria, could not be found This is simply not plausible.” He also asked for joint intelligence committee appraisal on Al-Iraq some of which he helped prepare and all of which he had seen. “Only three were provided