No need for a Public Enquiry, Nothing to See Here

Fucking hell, just discovered this.

Posted on CiF by "getridofem" in response to Guardian Comment asking for a public enquiry into Iraq War following Lord Bingham finding some backbone.

"Please allow me to (yet again) spell it out. There is now no such thing as a truly independent public inquiry in Britain. The Inquiries Act 2005 sees to that. Under this Act it is a Minister who decides to set up an inquiry; the Minister decided the terms of reference; the Minister appoints the person who will conduct the inquriy; the Minister can stop the inquiry; the Minister gets any report before anyone else and may direct that either all of it or part of it remain unpublished. Even after the report has been issued it is for Ministers to decide whether to accept or reject recommendations.

This odious and non-democractic Act was pushed through in 2005 (just before the general election) under a shabby deal between the Labour Party and the Tories.

In Northern Ireland, certain inquiries which commenced before the Inquiries Act 2005 were later "converted" into inquiries being held under the 2005 Act. [There is a "conversion procedure"].

Peter de Carteret Cory (http://www.scc-csc.gc.ca/court-cour/ju/cory/index-eng.asp), a disitnguished former judge of Canada's supreme court is on record as saying that no self-respecting judge would conduct an inquiry under this legislation.

Here is a link to the odious legislation referred to:
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2005/ukpga_20050012_en_1 "

Well, it'll save over-working poor Lord Hutton for the next whitewash, I suppose.

ThePenguin