Chilcot update

Sir John Chilcot’s letter to David Cameron made it pretty clear that the Iraq Inquiry team does not see its demand to publish cabinet minutes and Bush-Blair contacts as a battle with Washington. It sees this tussle as very much a battle with Whitehall.

The letter suggests that the Iraq Inquiry team is arguing with the cabinet secretary that they are only concerned with the sections of transcripts/correspondence/cabinet minutes that relate to British policy and actions not US policy.

They clearly believe that their work does not threaten the US relationship and that it is central to their mission. They want to publish material that supports criticisms they intend to make.

And you don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to think that means Tony Blair and some who served close to him could be in for some criticism.

But Tony Blair doesn’t get to hear about the criticism until “Maxwellisation” starts, that’s the process by which critical comments of individuals are circulated for comment prior to publication. When might that happen?

The tone of Sir John’s letter suggests it can’t happen soon enough. The Iraq Inquiry would not want its report published any time close to the General Election.

I suspect they want to end the negotiation with Sir Jeremy Heywood by Christmas to have a chance of “Maxwellisation” coming straight after that and publication before Parliament’s Summer recess. The next few weeks will decide whether they can hit that timetable.