The Committee
Lord Butler of Brockwell headed the five-member committee which included senior parliamentarians and civil servants with military and intelligence links:
- The Lord Butler of Brockwell, career civil servant who served three prime ministers as Cabinet Secretary.
- Field Marshal The Lord Inge, a crossbencher who was Chief of the Defence Staff from 1994 to 1997.
- Sir John Chilcot, a career diplomat and top civil servant.
- Ann Taylor, Labour MP who supported the invasion of Iraq, chair of the Commons Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), and former chief whip of the Labour Party.
- Michael Mates Conservative MP who supported the invasion of Iraq, chair of the Northern Ireland select committee. He is also a member of the ISC.
The Butler Review followed procedures similar to the Franks Committee inquiry into the Falklands War. The inquiry had access to all intelligence reports and other government papers, and it could call witnesses to give oral evidence. It worked closely with the US inquiry and the Iraq Survey Group. The committee met in secret and only its conclusions were published on 14 July 2004.
Read more about this topic: Butler Review
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