Iraq inquiry offers witness immunity

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Witnesses to Sir John Chilcot's inquiry into the Iraq war may be offered immunity from prosecution in order to encourage "openness and cooperation", it has been revealed.

Sir John Chilcot earlier promised the inquiry would not produce a "whitewash" report, but some anti-war protesters had been hoping that witnesses would be able to be prosecuted for alleged breaches of the Hague or Geneva conventions.

However, a statement released by the inquiry said: "Should a witness feel unable to answer questions due to a genuine fear of self-incrimination of a criminal offence, it would be open to the inquiry committee to consider whether, in order to secure the greatest possible openness and cooperation, it would be appropriate to seek an undertaking from the law officers that evidence provided to the inquiry will not be used in criminal proceedings against them."

The statement said this was "in accordance with the usual practice in inquiries".

Also, despite Sir John's promise of openness, evidence and documents collected by the inquiry but not made public could remain secret. The inquiry team said that "the inquiry is not a public authority for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act, so the act does not apply."