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Blair froze out Iraq War dissenters
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair froze out anyone with concerns about the Iraq War and was not challenged on the issue by a Cabinet that had been "conditioned" to accept that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, the Iraq inquiry has been told.
Lord Turnbull, who as Cabinet Secretary was Britain's most senior civil servant, said that Blair largely surrounded himself with those who would not disagree with him, while those who did have concerns were given almost no time to discuss the issue.
Meanwhile No 10 rejected calls to publish secret letters sent to President George Bush from Blair in 2002 which suggested that Britain would join the US in military action if it was needed. Gordon Brown also rebuffed calls to voluntarily appear at the inquiry before the next election.