The Dutch Iraq Inquiry concludes war had no legal basis

While I was in the Iraq Inquiry watching Alastair Campbell, the Dutch independent Iraq Inquiry was publishing its conclusions – you can see them here.

“The military action had no sound mandate under international law”, it concludes. It says the Dutch politicians exaggerated intelligence (conclusion 26-29).

The inquiry has just revealed in a press conference that the UK Ambassador delivered to the Dutch Prime Minister a “for your eyes only” personal letter from Tony Blair which Jan Peter Balkenende read and then had to return to the UK Ambassador.

The inquiry didn’t get to see it. For the record, the Dutch didn’t put troops into the US/UK-led war on Iraq but it gave its support.

Back at the UK’s Iraq Inquiry, Alastair Campbell is back up, for an extended session – it was orginally planned to stop at 1pm.

The biggest interest this morning was the revelation of personal letters from Tony Blair to President Bush in which, it sounds, the Prime Minister pretty much sounded like a man who was going to war with the US come what may.

No detail on that, I suspect we may never see the letters due to sensitivity – we certainly didn’t see them today.

Alastair Campbell has become the first witness to Tweet from the Inquiry Waiting Room in the lunch break – here’s his message: “Having a sandwich mid inquiry. Watching lunchtime news. God these hacks do talk some drivel “