LONDON – British authorities have refused to publish notes that Tony Blair sent to President George W. Bush before the Iraq war, prompting a complaint Tuesday from the chief of a public inquiry into the divisive conflict.
Cabinet Secretary Gus O'Donnell, head of the civil service, turned down the Iraq Inquiry's request for the communications between the then-British prime minister and Bush to be declassified and made public. The notes deal with extensive correspondence between Blair and Bush during the period leading up to U.S.-led 2003 invasion.
O'Donnell declined, saying publication "would, or would be likely to, damage the U.K.'s international relations."
Iraq Inquiry chairman John Chilcot and the other members of his panel have seen the correspondence.
Chilcot said Tuesday that the inquiry was "disappointed that the cabinet secretary was not willing to accede to its request."
"This means that in a narrow but important area the inquiry may not always be able to publish as fully as it would wish the evidential basis for some of its comments and conclusions," Chilcot said.
Chilcot wrote to O'Donnell last month asking for the documents to declassified, arguing that many of the principals — including Blair, Bush and two of Blair's top aides, chief of staff Jonathan Powell and communications director Alastair Campbell — had revealed details about some of their material in their published memoirs.
He also said the inquiry's guidelines called for disclosure of the notes.
"The inquiry regards it essential in order to fulfill its terms of reference, to be able to chronicle the sequencing of discussions on Iraq between the UK prime minister and the president of the United States," Chilcot said.
Campbell told the inquiry last year that Blair wrote to Bush often to express British support for the invasion of Iraq.
Blair is due to testify before the inquiry for a second time on Friday, and will face tough questions about his support for the war.
Britain's former top legal official has told the inquiry that Blair insisted the U.K. could join the invasion without additional backing from the United Nations, despite specific advice which told him that was untrue.
Peter Goldsmith, attorney general between 2001 and 2007, told the country's inquiry into the Iraq war that he was uneasy with the then-prime minister's claim that a U.N. resolution specifically authorizing the U.S.-led invasion would not be necessary under certain circumstances.
On Friday Blair will be questioned on the issue, and other apparent discrepancies raised following his defiant appearance before the five-member panel a year ago.
In partial transcripts of private inquiry hearings released late on Monday, Goldsmith is quoted as telling the five-member panel that he advised Blair a further resolution was needed — shortly before the leader made public statements to the contrary.
"I was uncomfortable about" Blair's statements, Goldsmith told the panel — set up by Britain's government to examine the buildup to the war and troubled planning for the aftermath of the conflict.
"My concern was that we should not box ourselves in by the public statements that were made, and create a situation which might then have to be unraveled," he said.
Having initially expressed doubts to Blair, Goldsmith later changed his advice on the legality of the invasion — a decision which paved the way for Britain's House of Commons to vote to approve the country's participation.
"As far as the legality is concerned I did reach the opinion that it was lawful. I stand by that advice," Goldsmith told the inquiry in a public evidence session last year.
Blair's office said the former prime minister would address Goldsmith's claims during Friday's session.
