MPs demand urgent safeguards to stop PMs ignoring ministers and taking military action like Tony Blair did in Iraq
A powerful Commons committee called for the rules to be tightened so ministers have more say in military action
MPs today demand urgent safeguards to stop Prime Ministers ignoring ministers and moving ahead on military action like Tony Blair did in Iraq.
A report by a powerful Commons committee called for the ruled to be tightened up immediately to prevent a repeat of the Iraq War.
MPs said a PM could still disregard Cabinet procedures - just like Mr Blair did when he wrote to President Bush saying he would be “I will be with you, whatever”.
But the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee revealed they would not investigate Tony Blair over whether he misled parliament on the Iraq war unless “new and relevant” evidence emerges.
Their critical cross-party report said Sir John Chilcot’s inquiry did not provide “sufficient basis” for a probe.
The report said: “The question of whether Parliament was misled is constantly raised. We do not pass over this matter at all lightly, but after taking advice, we do not feel that Chilcot or any other inquiries provide a sufficient basis for PACAC to conduct such an inquiry.
“However, we think Parliament should be prepared to establish such an inquiry into the matter if any new and relevant material or facts emerge.”
MPs said there were still insufficient safeguards to prevent Cabinet being sidelined by a prime minister.
They highlighted the the July 2002 note from Mr Blair to US president Mr Bush.
The report said: “It is generally agreed that the prime minister of the day should never have written ‘I will be with you whatever’ in his letter to the president of the United States, against the official advice and without the explicit agreement of his key ministers.
“This is just one of a number of examples identified by the Iraq Inquiry of the breakdown of collective ministerial decision-making over the development of UK policy on Iraq before the invasion.
“It is no longer acceptable that the present arrangements should continue without stronger means to prevent key ministers, or even the whole Cabinet, from being side-lined.
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The PACAC also blasted the Chilcot Inquiry for taking seven years to complete its work saying for many it had failed to “provide some closure”.
Committee chairman Bernard Jenkin added: “At present, there is simply nothing even a cabinet secretary can do to stop a prime minister from doing this again at some time in the future, short of resignation.
“There was a lack of collective Cabinet decision-making, at a time when clear thinking and a culture of challenge was most needed. The failure to engage Cabinet on such decisions cannot be allowed to happen again, but there is no mechanism to ensure that.”
The report said the cabinet secretary - the head of the civil service - should be able to formally object to a decision if it has not been taken following the correct procedure.