Blair should demand Bush Iraq war letters are published to stop conspiracy theories 'festering', says John Major

Blair should demand Bush Iraq war letters are published to stop conspiracy theories 'festering', says John Major as pressure grows on former PM to come clean

• Sir John says Blair could ask for papers to be published in Chilcot Inquiry
• Urges former PM to force publication to stop suspicions getting worse 
• Comes after deal struck to report only 'gist' of notes between leaders
• Material includes 25 letters and more than 130 records of conversations 
• Iraq report could now be published in the run up to next year's election
• Father of soldier killed in Iraq said 'it will be open wound until the day I die'
• One mother whose son, 19, was killed in Iraq says 'let families see them'
• Families said it 'beggared belief' that Bush and Blair can 'get away with it'
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By TOM MCTAGUE, MAIL ONLINE DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR

Tony Blair is hiding behind Government protocols to keep the notes between himself and George Bush secret, the former Prime Minister John Major suggested this morning.

Sir John warned that the decision not to allow the Chilcot Inquiry to publish the full correspondence between the two leaders in the run-up to the Iraq War would would allow conspiracy theories to 'fester'.

He said it was a 'pity' that only the 'gist' of the notes and conversations would be published - and urged Mr Blair to publicly call for the details to be published in full.

Sir John said only Mr Blair and the last Labour Government could overrule the civil service rules stopping the notes from being published.

He said: 'I think it is a pity the papers are going to be withheld for several reasons. Firstly, they will leave suspicions unresolved and those suspicions will fester and maybe worsen.

'And secondly, in many ways I think withholding them is going to be very embarrassing for Mr Blair, not least of course because he brought in the Freedom of Information Act into law when he was in government. But that is the decision that has been reached, effectively by the Cabinet Office.'

He added: 'I suppose the previous Labour government could approach them and say "we’d like to over-rule this, we think it better if they release those papers", but the Government can’t do that.

'Let me make that point - the Government cannot do that, Mr Blair could. The previous Labour Government could – and maybe in their own interests they could think about that because, otherwise as I say, this will fester and I don’t think anybody wishes to see that.'

Sir John's intervention, on BBC Radio 4 this morning, will pile pressure on Mr Blair to publicly ask for the notes to be published.

It comes after the Iraq inquiry was condemned as a whitewash over the deal to keep the notes secret.

Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood has vetoed the release of the letters and phone calls in the run-up to the 2003 conflict, officials revealed.

In them, Mr Blair is said to have promised the US President: 'You know, George, whatever you decide to do, I'm with you.'

The decision raises the possibility that the long-delayed findings of the £10million inquiry will be published before the general election.

The official reason for the censorship is that publication would deter prime ministers from speaking freely in private.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2642888/Breakthrough-Iraq-War-Inquiry-Blairs-official-reaches-deal-hand-letters-former-PM-George-Bush.html#ixzz33BvlU6XN
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