Hutton report

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The Hutton Report was an inquest into the death of weapons expert David Kelly , ordered by the British Government , chaired by Lord Justice Brian Hutton . The survey began in August 2003 and was completed in January 2004 . The official title of the investigation was Investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr David Kelly .

background

In the run-up to the third Gulf War , both the US and UK governments tried to convince the world of the dangers of Iraqi weapons. I.a. Tony Blair's government reported in a dossier that Saddam Hussein could use weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes .

Kelly told three BBC journalists that this information had been exaggerated (in his words sexed up ) by the Prime Minister's press office , namely its head Alastair Campbell . One of the reporter, Andrew Gilligan , published this on May 29, 2003. This was followed immediately denials of the government and this also demanded the BBC to disclose their sources. After some back and forth and assurances on the part of the BBC that they had reliable information, those responsible gave in to this request on July 9th. Kelly allegedly committed suicide on July 17th. Whether it was actually suicide and to what extent the government's Iraq dossier had actually been blown up should be clarified by Hutton's investigation, which the government commissioned the day after the weapons expert's death.

examination

The investigation began on August 1st. The individuals concerned were interviewed in several phases, including Andrew Gilligan and other BBC staff, then Secretary of Defense Geoff Hoon , Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair and members of the Kelly family. The taking of evidence was completed on September 24th.

report

The report was published on January 28, 2004 and comprised 750 pages with 13 chapters. In essence, it consisted of hundreds of documents (letters, e-mails, recordings, etc.) that were published during the survey.

Initial suspicion

The government was exonerated in the report far more than most observers had expected, as the following suspicions had previously been expressed and partially confirmed:

  • The wording of the dossier had been changed within the framework of the available intelligence information at the suggestion of Tony Blair's press advisor Alastair Campbell to the effect that there was as strong a reason for war as possible.
  • Secret service experts have expressed concerns about the wording of the dossier.
  • Alastair Campbell and Geoff Hoon wanted to publish Kelly's name (instead of the initially hesitant BBC).
  • The Prime Minister himself presided over a meeting at which it was decided that Kelly's name should be confirmed upon request from journalists.

Conclusions

Nevertheless, after very extensive investigations and detailed questioning, Lord Justice Hutton came to the following conclusions:

  • Hutton was convinced that Kelly was killing herself.
  • There was no secret government strategy to expose him as the source of the BBC.
  • Andrew Gilligan's allegation was ill-founded and the processes within the BBC are flawed.
  • The dossier was not glossed over, but corresponded to the documents available at the time, although it could not be ruled out that secret service institutions had been "subconsciously" influenced by the government.
  • The Department of Defense was partly to blame for Kelly's death in that it did not inform Kelly in advance of its strategy of naming Kelly.

criticism

After the investigation report was published, Hutton was attacked by several British daily newspapers. The Independent accused Hutton, for example, of "washing clean" the government and a "strange imbalance" in the results.

After the results were published in the Hutton Report in January 2004, the BBC apologized several times to Prime Minister Tony Blair.

A heated dispute ensued within the BBC. Staff accused management of accepting Lord Hutton's report, despite the fact that BBC lawyers discovered numerous errors in it. The BBC attorneys complained that twelve key areas in Lord Hutton's report had been ignored. The results of the presented report are therefore wrong.

BBC insiders told The Independent that the attorneys' report provided a broad basis for the company to challenge Lord Hutton's findings - perhaps through legal channels. According to the newspaper report, this was only briefly discussed and rejected within the BBC leadership. Instead, Director General Greg Dyke and Chairman of the Board Gavyn Davies resigned as a consequence.

Subsequent investigations based on documents from the then US and British governments, which were published in the National Security Archive of the George Washington University, came to an incriminating result with regard to the dossiers on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. The research shows that the two governments exchanged their reports during the drafting process to avoid "inconsistencies" and thereby ensure that the reports "complement" rather than "contradict" each other. The authors of this research speak of "coordinated propaganda efforts" (quote: "The documents also show that: [...] Both sides accelerated the drafting of their white papers in September 2002 as part of a coordinated propaganda effort.").

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Hutton Commission: acquittal for Tony Blair . Mirror online. January 28, 2004. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  2. ↑ David Kelly case: Secret documents shed light on the death of UN weapons inspector . Mirror online. October 22, 2010. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  3. ↑ A tribunal for ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair . The world. November 24, 2009. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  4. ↑ John Prados & Christopher Ames: The Iraq War - Part III: Shaping the Debate , The National Security Archive, October 4, 2010