The secret Iraq deal that bought Mandelson’s loyalty to Brown

24 June 2009

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John Kampfner unveils the ignominious truth about Sir John Chilcot’s Iraq inquiry and reveals Peter Mandelson’s demand, when Brown’s future hung in the balance in early June, that the hearings be held in private. Even now Mandelson’s priority is to protect Brand Blair

As he worked to secure the job he craved, Brown saw the promise of an Iraq inquiry as a means of casting aside his friend (and briefly foe). He has no more interest in eking out the truth on the war than any of the others who went along with it. Mandelson’s involvement in this affair is more complicated. He has personally less to hide than Blair, Campbell and the others who were intimately engaged in the war planning. His motivation hinges around preserving the Blair Brand that he was instrumental in creating. He agreed a year ago to join Brown’s Cabinet in order to ensure that the Brand was not sullied. He agreed to prop up the Prime Minister earlier this month in order to ensure that the Brand was not completely destroyed.

The man who presided over the greatest foreign policy calamity of more than half a century has still not been nailed for it, and will not be nailed for it. For that he has his friends to thank.

John Kampfner is Chief Executive of Index on Censorship. His new book, Freedom for Sale, is published by Simon & Schuster in September.

Apology: In John Kampfner's article, we stated that Alastair Campbell prevailed upon Lord Butler to tone down important sections of his report on intelligence used in the build up to the Iraq war. We are happy to accept that this is not so, and that Mr Campbell, who left Downing Street in 2003, played no role in relation to the Butler inquiry, to which he was not a witness. We apologise to him for our error and have agreed to make a donation to the fund he has established for Leukaemia Research in honour of Henry Hodge.