UK Told to Release Iraq Minutes

UK Told to Release Iraq Minutes

www.mirror.co.uk

The country's information watchdog ordered the government on Tuesday to release the minutes of cabinet meetings held in March 2003 which discussed the legal justification for going to war in Iraq.

Release of the documents could embarrass Prime Minister Gordon Brown, whose predecessor Tony Blair was accused by critics of glossing over lawyers' initial reservations about launching the invasion of Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

Blair was U.S. President George W. Bush's strongest ally in the war, which started on March 20, 2003.

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"The public interest in disclosing the cabinet minutes in this particular case outweighs the public interest in withholding the information," the office of Information Commissioner Richard Thomas, who adjudicates on contested Freedom of Information Act requests, said in a statement.

This information, if released, may be most-telling.

www.mirror.co.uk
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He backed the government's request to withhold references in the minutes which the government argued "would be likely to have a detrimental effect on international relations" if made public.

The government's Cabinet Office said it was considering the ruling. It has the option of appealing to a tribunal.

This leaves a lot of wiggle room in what may be actually released. As if the US UK decision to invade Iraq did not "have a detrimental effect on international relations."