JEREMY Corbyn has called for a Chilcot-style inquiry into the UK’s involvement in Gaza.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, the former Labour leader says he will be working with colleagues to “pursue all avenues to establish a public, independent inquiry into the UK’s involvement in Israel’s military assault in Gaza”.
This inquiry should “establish exactly what decisions have been taken, how these decisions have been made, and what consequences they have had.”
Corbyn also referenced the Chilcot inquiry as a potential model – which he also previously did in an exclusive interview with The National last year.
Gordon Brown ordered the Chilcot Inquiry in June 2009 to look into the Labour government and particularly his predecessor Tony Blair’s decision-making when it came to the UK’s involvement in the war in Iraq.
The seven-year-long inquiry ultimately ruined Blair’s reputation, exposing his subservient relationship to US president George W Bush and found that the UK had not properly exhausted the peace process.
The war led to the loss of around 150,000 Iraqi lives as well as those of 179 Brits.
Corbyn said that “history is repeating itself”, adding: “Many people believe that the government has taken decisions that have implicated officials in the gravest breaches of international law. These charges will not go away until there is a comprehensive inquiry with the legal power to establish the truth.”
The MP for Islington North said that the public have been left “in the dark over the way in which the responsibilities of government have been discharged” and called for the “full co-operation from government ministers involved in decision-making processes since October 2023.”
The letter concludes: “Many people believe that the government has taken decisions that have implicated officials in the gravest breaches of international law. These charges will not go away until there is a comprehensive inquiry with the legal power to establish the truth.”
