129-519: The Iraq Inquiry (also referred to as the Chilcot Inquiry after its chairman, Sir John Chilcot ) was a British public inquiry into the nation's role in the Iraq War . The inquiry was announced in 2009 by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and published in 2016 with a public statement by Chilcot. On 6 July 2016, Sir John Chilcot announced the report's publication, more than seven years after
258-590: A No vote, Brown was subsequently a key participant in the Scottish Constitutional Convention , signing the Claim of Right for Scotland in 1989. Labour leader John Smith died suddenly in May 1994. Brown did not contest the leadership after Tony Blair became the favourite to win the 1994 leadership election , deciding to make way for Blair to avoid splitting the pro-modernising vote in
387-411: A bank rescue package worth around £500 billion (approximately $ 850 billion), a temporary 2.5 percentage point cut in value-added tax and a "car scrappage" scheme. In mid-2008, Brown's leadership was presented with a challenge as some MPs openly called for him to resign. This event was dubbed the 'Lancashire Plot', as two backbenchers from (pre-1974) Lancashire urged him to step down and
516-464: A new bill extending the pre-charge detention period to 42 days . The bill was met with opposition on both sides of the House and backbench rebellion. In the end, the bill passed by just nine votes. The House of Lords defeated the bill, with Lords characterising it as "fatally flawed, ill thought through and unnecessary", stating that "it seeks to further erode fundamental legal and civil rights". Brown
645-529: A Protocol in agreement with the Iraq Inquiry on the treatment of sensitive written and electronic information. Evidence which will not be made available to the public includes anything likely to: The inquiry heard evidence from a variety of witnesses, such as politicians, including several cabinet ministers at the time of the invasion; senior civil servants, including lawyers and intelligence chiefs; diplomats, mostly composed of British ambassadors to Iraq and
774-632: A consideration of what political or legal consequences are appropriate for those responsible". After the inquiry's report was issued, Tony Blair acknowledged that the report made "real and material criticisms of preparation, planning, process and of the relationship with the United States" but cited sections of the report that he said "should lay to rest allegations of bad faith, lies or deceit". He stated: "whether people agree or disagree with my decision to take military action against Saddam Hussein , I took it in good faith and in what I believed to be
903-533: A cost of £3bn a year, I can now return income tax to just two rates by removing the 10p band on non-savings income". Brown also implemented the Windfall Tax in 1997 on the privatised utilities. The tax produced an estimated one-off income to the government of £5 billion, which was used to fund the New Deal for Young People, a welfare-to-work program that sought to tackle long-term unemployment. According to
1032-869: A former Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer, said "nearly every fact he used was false." Between 1999 and 2002 Brown sold 60% of the UK's gold reserves shortly before gold entered a protracted bull market, since nicknamed by dealers as the Brown Bottom or Brown's Bottom. The official reason for selling the gold reserves was to reduce the portfolio risk of the UK's reserves by diversifying away from gold. The UK eventually sold about 395 tons of gold over 17 auctions from July 1999 to March 2002, at an average price of about US$ 275 per ounce, raising approximately US$ 3.5 billion. By 2011, that quantity of gold would be worth over $ 19 billion, leading to Brown's decision to sell
1161-434: A judge's ruling and blocked the disclosure of extracts of a conversation between Bush and Blair moments before the invasion. In his submission to the inquiry, Philippe Sands observed that: an independent Dutch Inquiry has recently concluded – unanimously and without ambiguity – that the war was not justified under international law. The Dutch inquiry Committee was presided by W.J.M. Davids, a distinguished former President of
1290-575: A judgment of the findings one way or the other. Our focus, again, is on the challenges we have in Iraq and Syria right now, and that's where our focus is". After the report was issued, Jeremy Corbyn , the leader of the opposition and leader of the Labour Party - who had voted against military action - gave a speech in Westminster stating: "I now apologise sincerely on behalf of my party for
1419-436: A leadership contest. A BBC report states that the decisive nomination was made by Tony Wright with MacKinlay yet to nominate at that point. Brown replaced Blair as Leader of the Labour Party on 24 June 2007. After Blair tendered his resignation to Queen Elizabeth II , Brown was invited by the queen to form a government and become Prime Minister on 27 June 2007. In his first speech as prime minister, Brown said "This will be
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#17327874127861548-574: A message to young people—this is not acceptable". Professor Nutt's predecessor at the ACMD, Sir Michael Rawlins , later said, "Governments may well have good reasons for taking an alternative view ... When that happens, then the government should explain why it's ignoring the particular advice". Brown's premiership coincided with the global recession , during which Brown called for fiscal action in an attempt to stimulate aggregate demand. Domestically, Brown's administration introduced measures including
1677-534: A new government with new priorities and I have been privileged to have been granted the great opportunity to serve my country. And at all times I will be strong in purpose, steadfast in will, resolute in action, in the service of what matters to the British people, meeting the concerns and aspirations of our whole country." Brown rescinded some of the policies which had been introduced or were planned by Blair's administration. He remained committed to close ties with
1806-680: A prominent role in the campaign to maintain the union during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum , and in 2022 wrote a report on devolution for Labour leader Keir Starmer . Brown has served as the UN Special Envoy for Global Education and Ambassador for Global Health Financing for the World Health Organization . Brown was appointed a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour by King Charles III in
1935-406: A reduced majority and reduced vote share. Blair announced on 7 September 2006 that he would step down within a year. Brown was the clear favourite to succeed Blair; he was the only candidate spoken of seriously in Westminster. Appearances and news coverage leading up to the handover were interpreted as preparing the ground for Brown to become prime minister, in part by creating the impression of
2064-544: A second resolution was necessary – and March 2003 – when he said that Resolution 1441 was sufficient – and the report describes pressure being applied by the Prime Minister's Office to get Goldsmith to revise his opinion. By ultimately going to war without a Security Council resolution , the UK was "undermining the Security Council's authority". The report found that Blair had attempted to persuade Bush of
2193-523: A sentence from a private memo from Blair to Bush which read "I will be with you whatever". Contrary to Tony Blair 's claims, Chilcot found that the Special Relationship did not require unquestioning agreement between the UK and the US, and the report identified several previous occasions where one country had gone to war without the other without long-term damage to diplomatic relations, including
2322-508: A series of documents including military reports were leaked to a newspaper which appeared to show poor post-war planning and lack of provisions. The inquiry was pursued by a committee of Privy Counsellors with broad terms of reference to consider Britain's involvement in Iraq between 2001 and 2009. It covered the run-up to the conflict , the subsequent military action and its aftermath to establish how decisions were made, to determine what happened and to identify lessons to ensure that, in
2451-423: A similar situation in future, the British government is equipped to respond in the most effective manner in the best interests of the country. The open sessions of the inquiry commenced on 24 November 2009 and concluded on 2 February 2011. In 2012, the government vetoed the release to the inquiry of documents detailing minutes of Cabinet meetings in the days leading up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Concurrently,
2580-510: A statesman with a vision for leadership and global change . This enabled Brown to signal the most significant priorities for his agenda as prime minister; speaking at a Fabian Society conference on 'The Next Decade' in January 2007, he stressed education, international development, narrowing inequalities (to pursue 'equality of opportunity and fairness of outcome'), renewing Britishness, restoring trust in politics, and winning hearts and minds in
2709-601: A third questioned his chances of holding on to the Labour Party leadership. Several MPs argued that if Brown did not recover in the polls by early 2009, he should call for a leadership contest; however, certain prominent MPs, such as Jacqui Smith and Bill Rammell , suggested that Brown was the right person to lead Britain through its economic crisis. In the autumn, Siobhain McDonagh , an MP and junior government whip, who during her time in office had never voted against
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#17327874127862838-607: Is collected, the indirect effect of which was for the dividends on stock investments held within pensions to be taxed, thus lowering pension returns and contributing to the demise of most of the final salary pension funds in the UK. Brown's 2000 Spending Review outlined a major expansion of government spending , particularly on health and education. In his April 2002 budget, Brown increased National Insurance to pay for health spending. He also introduced working tax credits , and in his last budget as Chancellor, Brown gave an extra £3 billion in pension allowances, an increase in
2967-652: Is horrible". Nonetheless, in November 2007 Brown was accused by some senior military figures of not adhering to the Military Covenant , a convention within British politics ensuring adequate safeguards, rewards and compensation for military personnel who risk their lives in obedience to orders derived from the policy of the elected government. Brown did not attend the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics on 8 August 2008 in Beijing ; instead, he attended
3096-518: Is to be criticised a fair opportunity to comment on a draft prior to finalisation and publication. Chilcot wrote a letter to David Cameron in October 2015, announcing that the text could be complete by April 2016, and furthermore proposed a release date of June or July 2016. The committee of inquiry, the members of which were chosen by Gordon Brown , comprised: The committee also took secretarial support during proceedings from Margaret Aldred. When
3225-636: The Financial Times , Philip Stephens , said that Blair's "sin was one of certitude rather than deceit", and writing for Bloomberg View , Eli Lake said that the report proved Blair "didn't lie his way into Iraq". Speaking in Parliament, Corbyn said that MPs who voted for the war were "misled by a small number of leading figures in the Government" who "were none too scrupulous about how they made their case for war", and Caroline Lucas , MP for
3354-614: The Independent on Sunday , in which he questioned the appointment to the inquiry panel of two British historians on the basis of their previous support for Israel . In a diplomatic cable from the US embassy in London, released as part of Cablegate , Jon Day, director general for security policy at the British Ministry of Defence is cited having promised the US to have "put measures in place to protect your interests" regarding
3483-512: The 2010 general election —generated political controversy. Conservative Party leader David Cameron dismissed the inquiry as "an establishment stitch-up ", and the Liberal Democrats threatened a boycott. In a parliamentary debate over the establishment of the inquiry, MPs from all the major parties criticised the government's selection of its members. MPs drew attention to the absence of anyone with first-hand military expertise,
3612-650: The 2024 Birthday Honours for public and charitable services in the UK and abroad. As chancellor, Brown had high approval ratings and a poll of political scientists rated him the most successful chancellor in terms of economic stability, working independently from the prime minister and leaving a lasting legacy on the British economy . His premiership has been viewed less favourably; although public opinion of Brown has improved since he left office, his premiership has been viewed as average in historical rankings and public opinion of British prime ministers. James Gordon Brown
3741-457: The Butler report the following year, the one thing Sir John could not have afforded to produce was another report that was dismissed as a whitewash.' Political commentators were split as to what extent the report showed that Tony Blair had lied or deliberately misled Parliament and the public. NBC News said that the report "stops short of saying Blair lied", the chief political commentator for
3870-476: The Conservative Party for its role in the lead-up to the war. Cameron said that he did not see "a huge amount of point" in "replaying all the arguments of the day" and said that focus should instead be on learning "the lessons of what happened and what needs to be put in place to make sure that mistakes cannot be made in future". The same day, US State Department spokesperson John Kirby stated in
3999-635: The Consumer Price Index and transferred responsibility for banking supervision to the Financial Services Authority . Some commentators have argued that this division of responsibilities exacerbated the severity in Britain of the 2007–2008 financial crisis . During the 1997 election campaign and subsequently, Brown pledged not to increase the basic or higher rates of income tax . Over his Chancellorship he reduced
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4128-771: The Firth of Forth from Edinburgh – when Gordon was three. Brown was brought up there with his elder brother John and younger brother Andrew in a manse ; he is therefore often referred to as a "son of the manse", an idiomatic Scottish phrase, similar to the American phrase " preacher's kid ". Brown was educated first at Kirkcaldy West Primary School, where he was selected for an experimental fast stream education programme, which took him two years early to Kirkcaldy High School for an academic hothouse education taught in separate classes. Aged 16, he wrote that he loathed and resented this "ludicrous" experiment on young lives. He
4257-513: The Foreign Office successfully appealed against a judge's ruling and blocked the disclosure of extracts of a conversation between George W. Bush and Tony Blair days before the invasion. The government stated that revealing this conversation would present a "significant danger" to British–American relations . The million-word report of the inquiry was due to be released to the public by 2014, but difficult negotiations were continuing with
4386-504: The Green Party , said that contradictions between public statements and private memos to Bush proved that Blair was "lying" about whether war could have been averted. Philippe Sands said the report pulled its punches but marshalled the factual evidence in such a way that an inference of lying, deceit or manipulation was possible. The timing and nature of the inquiry—and particularly the fact that it would not issue its report until after
4515-643: The Head of the Civil Service , William Armstrong . Chilcot acted as "staff counsellor" to MI5 and MI6 from 1999 to 2004, "dealing with private and personal complaints from members of the intelligence services about their work and conditions". Chilcot became a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom in 2004, which gave him the prenominal style 'The Right Honourable'. Chilcot
4644-460: The Iraq War , but said in a speech in June 2007 that he would "learn the lessons" from the mistakes made in Iraq. Brown said in a letter published on 17 March 2008 that the United Kingdom would hold an inquiry into the war . Brown went to great lengths to empathise with those who lost family members in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. He has often said "War is tragic", echoing Blair's quote, "War
4773-471: The OECD , UK taxation increased from a 39.3% share of gross domestic product in 1997 to 42.4% in 2006, going to a higher level than that of Germany. This increase has mainly been attributed to active government policy, and not simply to the growing economy. Conservatives have accused Brown of imposing " stealth taxes ". A commonly reported example resulted in 1997 from a technical change in the way corporation tax
4902-461: The United States : "We will not allow people to separate us from the United States of America in dealing with the common challenges that we face around the world. I think people have got to remember that the special relationship between a British prime minister and an American president is built on the things that we share, the same enduring values about the importance of liberty, opportunity,
5031-620: The Vietnam War and Falklands War . The report found that British planning for a post- Ba'athist Iraq was "wholly inadequate" and that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) left UK forces in Iraq without adequate equipment or a plan. It also found that there was no ministerial oversight of post-conflict strategy. Initial planning for the war assumed an invasion from the north, but Turkey refused permission for UK troops to cross its border. Plans were therefore completely rewritten two months before
5160-554: The general election . In the 1997 general election , Labour defeated the Conservatives by a landslide to end their 18-year exile from government, and when Tony Blair , the new Prime Minister, announced his ministerial team on 2 May 1997, he appointed Brown as Chancellor of the Exchequer . Brown would remain in this role for 10 years and two months, making him the longest-serving Chancellor in modern history. Some achievements from Brown's decade as chancellor included making
5289-544: The manifesto for change . The manifesto included a clampdown on corruption and a new Ministerial Code , which set out clear standards of behaviour for ministers. He also stated in a speech when announcing his bid that he wanted a "better constitution" that is "clear about the rights and responsibilities of being a citizen in Britain today". He planned to set up an all-party convention to look at new powers for Parliament and to look at rebalancing powers between Whitehall and local government. Brown said he would give Parliament
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5418-942: The "Chilcot Inquiry"), an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the Iraq War (2003). A career civil servant until his retirement in 1997, Chilcot served as Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the Northern Ireland Office , Deputy Under-Secretary at the Home Office in charge of the Police Department, and a variety of posts in the Home Office, the Civil Service Department and the Cabinet Office , including Private Secretary appointments to Home Secretaries Roy Jenkins , Merlyn Rees , and William Whitelaw , and to
5547-415: The 1996 action film The Rock – and expressed doubts about its reliability. Nonetheless, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw asked MI6 to use the source to provide "silver bullet intelligence". The inquiry was not about the legality of military action and could not rule on this as it was not an internationally recognised court. However, the report did criticise the process by which the government investigated
5676-435: The ACMD, criticised this move in a lecture in 2009, he was asked to step down by then Home Secretary Alan Johnson . Following his resignation, Professor Nutt said Brown had "made up his mind" to reclassify cannabis despite evidence to the contrary. Brown had argued, "I don't think that the previous studies took into account that so much of the cannabis on the streets is now of a lethal quality and we really have got to send out
5805-639: The Bank of England independent and delivering an agreement on poverty and climate change at the G8 summit in 2005. On taking office as chancellor, Brown gave the Bank of England operational independence in monetary policy , and thus responsibility for setting interest rates through the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee . At the same time, he also changed the inflation measure from the Retail Price Index to
5934-529: The Conservatives (led by David Cameron ) in the polls. Disputes over political donations, a string of losses in local elections, and by-election losses in Crewe and Glasgow did himself and the government no favours either. Brown has since claimed that Labour would have won the 2007 election but he did not believe an early election was in the national interest. His political opponents accused him of being indecisive, which Brown denied. In July 2008, he supported
6063-454: The Conservatives formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats , Brown was succeeded as prime minister by Conservative leader David Cameron , and as Labour leader by Ed Miliband . After leaving office, Brown returned to the backbenches , continuing to serve as MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath until he gave up his seat in 2015. He has since made occasional political interventions, and published political-themed books. Brown played
6192-490: The Dutch Supreme Court, and four of its seven members were lawyers. The Dutch Committee was well-placed to address the substantive legal issues. I note, however, that the composition of this Inquiry includes no members with any legal background. In 2011, the Independent published an article with 15 charges that have yet to be answered by the inquiry. Speaking at a public meeting in 2013, David Owen said that
6321-490: The Iraqi Interior Ministry from 2003 to 2005. The final witness in the public hearings, heard on 2 February 2011, was Jack Straw , Foreign Secretary from 2001 to 2006. The Inquiry's final report was published on 6 July 2016. Comprising 2.6 million words in 12 volumes, plus an executive summary , a physical copy was priced at £ 767. Bereaved families received a free copy. It was also published online. It
6450-512: The Iraqi government directly to Blair, without first confirming its accuracy. The investigators found that references to this intelligence in government reports were over-certain and did not adequately stress uncertainties and nuance. The informant was later found to have been lying. The Chilcot report states that "personal intervention [by Dearlove] and its urgency gave added weight to a report that had not been properly evaluated and would have coloured
6579-501: The Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer under Tony Blair from 1997 to 2007. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Dunfermline East from 1983 to 2005, and Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath from 2005 to 2015. A doctoral graduate , Brown studied history at the University of Edinburgh . He spent his early career as a lecturer at a further education college and television journalist. Brown
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#17327874127866708-534: The Labour Party's annual conference in September, which caused controversy as he coupled this with a commitment to crack down on migrant workers. The Conservative Party, led by David Cameron , promptly pointed out that such a commitment was illegal under EU law. Other controversial statements made by Brown about migration included him stating that English lessons and taking mandatory community service should be prerequisites for being granted UK citizenship. During
6837-608: The Queen's Speech to Parliament on 3 December 2008, the Brown government unveiled plans to introduce lie detector tests, based on voice recognition technology, in order to determine whether to accept benefit claims. Despite having spent £2.4 million on these tests, trials performed by the Department for Work and Pensions showed that they were inaccurate approximately four of every seven times they were used. Brown had been committed to
6966-565: The UK adopting the euro . Controversial moves included the abolition of advance corporation tax (ACT) relief in his first budget, the sale of UK gold reserves from 1999 to 2002 , and the removal in his final budget of the 10% starting rate of income tax which he had introduced in the 1999 budget . Following Blair's resignation in 2007, Brown was elected unopposed to succeed him as prime minister and party leader. The party continued as New Labour, though Brown's style of government differed from Blair's. He remained committed to close ties with
7095-607: The United Kingdom and United States had undermined the authority of the United Nations Security Council , that the process of identifying the legal basis was "far from satisfactory", and that a war was unnecessary. Chilcot was president of Britain's independent policing think tank , The Police Foundation. Chilcot was born on 22 April 1939, and educated at Brighton College and Pembroke College, Cambridge , where he read English and languages. Chilcot died from kidney disease on 3 October 2021, at
7224-672: The United Kingdom to adopt the European single currency. The Treasury indicated that the tests had not been passed in June 2003. In 2000, Brown was accused of starting a political row about higher education (referred to as the Laura Spence affair ) when he accused the University of Oxford of elitism in its admissions procedures, describing its decision not to offer a place to state school pupil Laura Spence as "absolutely outrageous". Lord Jenkins , then Oxford Chancellor and himself
7353-573: The United States and to the war in Iraq , although he established an inquiry into the reasons for Britain's participation in the conflict . Brown's government introduced rescue packages to keep banks afloat during the 2007–2008 financial crisis , and so national debt increased. The government took majority shareholdings in Northern Rock and Royal Bank of Scotland , which had experienced severe financial difficulties, and injected public money into other banks. In 2008, Brown's government passed
7482-438: The United States and to the war in Iraq, although he established an inquiry into the reasons for Britain's participation in the conflict . He proposed a "government of all the talents" which would involve co-opting leading personalities from industry and professional occupations into government positions. Brown also appointed Jacqui Smith as the UK's first female Home Secretary , while Brown's former position as chancellor of
7611-417: The United States had undermined the authority of the United Nations Security Council , that the process of identifying the legal basis was "far from satisfactory", and that a war was unnecessary. The report was made available under an Open Government Licence . It was initially established by Prime Minister Gordon Brown that the Iraq Inquiry would be held in camera , excluding the public and press. However,
7740-485: The United States over the publication of documents. The Lord-in-waiting Lord Wallace of Saltaire said on behalf of the government that it would be "inappropriate" to publish the report in the months leading up to the next general election in 2015. In August, it transpired that the Report would in any event be further delayed, possibly into 2016, due to the legal requirement of " Maxwellisation ", allowing any person who
7869-553: The United States; Admiral Lord Boyce , former Chief of the Defence Staff ; Sir John Scarlett , Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service ; Major-General Tim Cross , the most senior British officer on the ground in the aftermath of the invasion; and Air Chief Marshal Sir Brian Burridge , overall commander of British forces in the invasion. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair was publicly questioned by
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#17327874127867998-488: The United States; and high-ranking military officers including former Chiefs of the General Staff and Chiefs of the Defence Staff as well as senior operational commanders. The inquiry heard mostly from civil servants, intelligence and security officials, diplomats and military officers from the first public hearings up until it recessed for Christmas. Key witnesses included Sir Christopher Meyer , former ambassador to
8127-424: The University of Edinburgh, Brown was involved in a romantic relationship with Margarita, Crown Princess of Romania . Margarita said about it: "It was a very solid and romantic story. I never stopped loving him but one day it didn't seem right anymore, it was politics, politics, politics, and I needed nurturing." An unnamed friend of those years is quoted by Paul Routledge in his biography of Brown as recalling: "She
8256-491: The ability to launch WMD within 45 minutes, and instead laid the blame for the weaknesses in its evidence on the Joint Intelligence Committee . More specifically, the report blamed Secret Intelligence Service (better known as MI6) head Richard Dearlove who presented so-called "hot" intelligence about alleged weapons of mass destruction provided by an Iraqi with "phenomenal access" to high levels in
8385-478: The absence of members with acknowledged or proven inquisitorial skills, and the absence of any elected representatives. Several MPs drew attention to the fact that Chilcot would be unable to receive evidence under oath. Gilbert's appointment to the enquiry was criticised on the basis that he had once compared Bush and Blair to Roosevelt and Churchill. The criticism by the Liberal Democrats continued with
8514-520: The age of 82. Chilcot was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 1990 Birthday Honours before being promoted to Knight Commander (KCB) in the 1994 New Year Honours and Knight Grand Cross (GCB) in the 1998 New Year Honours . Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of
8643-461: The basic rate from 22% to 20%, increasing tax for 5 million people and, according to the calculations of the Institute for Fiscal Studies , leaving those earning between £5,000 and £18,000 as the biggest losers. To backbench cheers, Brown had described the measure in his last Budget thus: "Having put in place more focused ways of incentivising work and directly supporting children and pensioners at
8772-424: The basic rate from 23% to 20%; however, in all budgets but his final one, he increased the tax thresholds in line with inflation rather than with earnings, resulting in fiscal drag . Under Brown, corporation tax fell from a main rate of 33% to 28%, and from 24% to 19% for small businesses . In 1999, he introduced a lower income tax band of 10% . He abolished this 10% tax band in his last budget in 2007 to reduce
8901-470: The best interests of the country. ... I will take full responsibility for any mistakes without exception or excuse. I will at the same time say why, nonetheless, I believe that it was better to remove Saddam Hussein and why I do not believe this is the cause of the terrorism we see today whether in the Middle East or elsewhere in the world". Following the publication of the report, John Prescott , who
9030-464: The child tax credit, and an increase in the working tax credit. These increases were followed by another £1 billion of support for increases in the child tax credit. Under Brown, the tax code, the standard guide to tax, doubled in length to 17,000 pages. In October 1997, Brown announced that the Treasury would set five economic tests to determine whether the economic case had been made for
9159-484: The closing ceremony on 24 August 2008. Brown had been under intense pressure from human rights campaigners to send a message to China , concerning the 2008 Tibetan unrest . His decision not to attend the opening ceremony was not an act of protest, but rather was made several weeks in advance and not intended as a stand on principle. In a speech in July 2007, Brown clarified his position regarding Britain's relationship with
9288-600: The daily White House press briefing that the US would not respond to the report and that reporters should direct their questions to British officials instead, explaining that their focus was now on Syria rather than a decision made 13 years prior: "... we're not going to make a judgment one way or the other about this report, and I'll let British officials speak to the degree to which they intend to derive lessons learned from it. That's really, again, for them to talk to. We're not going to go through it, we're not going to examine it, we're not going to try to do an analysis of it or make
9417-482: The decision to hold the inquiry in secret and its highly restrictive terms of reference which would not, for example, permit any blame to be apportioned. In 2015, Chilcot was criticised as the Inquiry remained unpublished after six years. The head of Her Majesty's Civil Service Sir Jeremy Heywood said the inquiry had repeatedly turned down offers of extra assistance to help speed up the report. On 29 October 2015, it
9546-409: The decision was later deferred to Sir John Chilcot , the inquiry chairman, who said that it was "essential to hold as much of the proceedings of the inquiry as possible in public". In July 2009, when the inquiry commenced, it was announced that the committee would be able to request any British document and call any British citizen to give evidence. In the week before the inquiry began hearing witnesses,
9675-574: The dignity of the individual. I will continue to work, as Tony Blair did, very closely with the American administration." Brown and the Labour party had pledged to allow a referendum on the EU Reform Treaty . On 13 December 2007, Foreign Secretary David Miliband attended for the Prime Minister at the official signing ceremony in Lisbon . Brown's opponents on both sides of the House, and in
9804-485: The disastrous decision to go to war in Iraq in March 2003" which he called an "act of military aggression launched on a false pretext" something that has "long been regarded as illegal by the overwhelming weight of international opinion". Corbyn specifically apologised to "the people of Iraq"; to the families of British soldiers who died in Iraq or returned injured; and to "the millions of British citizens who feel our democracy
9933-518: The document to be too complex to be decided by referendum. During Brown's premiership, in October 2008, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) recommended to the then Home Secretary Jacqui Smith that cannabis remain classified as a Class C drug . Acting against the advice of the council, she chose to reclassify it as Class B . After Professor David Nutt , the chair of
10062-500: The enquiry on 29 January 2010, and again on 21 January 2011. On both of these occasions protests took place outside the conference centre. Because of widespread public interest in Blair's evidence, public access to the hearings had to be allocated by lottery. Special dispensations to attend were allocated to those whose close family were casualties of the war, some of whom shouted angry accusations at Blair during his second appearance. From
10191-404: The evenings. Doctors were given the right of opting out of out-of-hours care in 2007, under a controversial pay deal, signed by then-Health Secretary John Reid , which awarded them a 22 per cent pay rise in 2006. On 5 June 2007, just three weeks before he was due to take the post of Prime Minister, Brown made a speech promising "British Jobs for British workers". Brown reiterated that promise at
10320-445: The exchequer was taken over by Alistair Darling . He proposed moving some traditional prime ministerial powers conferred by royal prerogative to the realm of Parliament, such as the power to declare war and approve appointments to senior positions. Brown wanted Parliament to gain the right to ratify treaties and have more oversight of the intelligence services. He also proposed moving some powers from Parliament to citizens, including
10449-505: The face of the challenge that emerged in September, as did Business Secretary John Hutton , Environment Secretary Hilary Benn , and Chief Whip Geoff Hoon . On 4 June 2009 James Purnell resigned from the Cabinet , and called for Brown's resignation as prime minister. On 6 January 2010, Patricia Hewitt and Geoff Hoon jointly called for a secret ballot on the future of Brown's leadership. The call received little support, and
10578-399: The final say on whether British troops were sent into action in future. He said he wanted to release more land and ease access to ownership with shared equity schemes. He backed a proposal to build new eco-towns , each housing between 10,000 and 20,000 homeowners – up to 100,000 new homes in total. Brown also said he wanted to have doctors' surgeries open at the weekends, and GPs on call in
10707-419: The gold being widely criticised. As of August 2024 the gold prize is approximately £1,905 per ounce, which would value the reserves sold at £26.5 billion. As Chancellor, Brown argued against renationalising the railways , saying at the Labour conference in 2004 that it would cost £22 billion. During his time as Chancellor, Brown reportedly believed that it was appropriate to remove most, but not all, of
10836-410: The government, spoke of the need for discussion over Brown's position. While she did not state that she wanted Brown deposed, she implored the Labour Party to hold a leadership election. McDonagh was sacked from her role shortly afterward, on 12 September. She was supported in making clear her desire for a contest by Joan Ryan (who applied, as McDonagh had, for leadership nomination papers, and became
10965-665: The inquiry "is being prevented from revealing extracts that they believe relevant from exchanges between President Bush and Prime Minister Blair". He blamed Blair and Cameron for this state of affairs, who he believed have entered into a private deal to prevent the publication of important documents out of mutual self-interest. It emerged that the Cabinet Office was resisting the release of "more than 130 records of conversations" between Bush and Blair, as well as "25 notes from Mr Blair to President Bush" and "some 200 cabinet-level discussions". The report has been criticised for ignoring
11094-474: The inquiry was announced on 15 June 2009 by Prime Minister Gordon Brown , it was initially announced that proceedings would take place in private, a decision which was subsequently reversed after receiving criticism in the media and the House of Commons . The inquiry commenced in July 2009, with public hearings commencing on 24 November 2009 with Peter Ricketts , chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee at
11223-470: The inquiry was announced. Usually referred to as the Chilcot report by the news media, the document stated that at the time of the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Saddam Hussein did not pose an urgent threat to British interests, that intelligence regarding weapons of mass destruction was presented with unwarranted certainty, that peaceful alternatives to war had not been exhausted, that the United Kingdom and
11352-474: The inquiry's resumption in January 2010, it heard predominantly from politicians and former government officials, including Alastair Campbell , Tony Blair 's director of communications and on 2 February 2010, then- Secretary of State for International Development Clare Short , when she repeatedly criticised Blair, Attorney General Peter Goldsmith and others in the UK Government for what she maintained
11481-477: The inquiry. This has been interpreted as an indication that the inquiry is restricted "to minimize embarrassment for the United States." In 2012, Attorney General Dominic Grieve was criticised when he vetoed the release of documents to the inquiry detailing minutes of Cabinet meetings in the days leading up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Concurrently, the Foreign Office successfully appealed against
11610-457: The intelligence agencies, and making exaggerated claims about threats to Britain's national security". The report found that in the run-up to the war , peaceful diplomatic options to avoid instability and WMD proliferation had not been exhausted, and that the war was therefore "not a last resort". Intervention might have become necessary later, but at the time of the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Saddam Hussein did not pose an immediate threat and
11739-595: The leadership ballot. It has long been rumoured a deal was struck between Blair and Brown at the former Granita restaurant in Islington , in which Blair promised to give Brown control of economic policy in return for Brown not standing against him in the leadership election. Whether this is true or not, the relationship between Blair and Brown was central to the fortunes of New Labour , and they mostly remained united in public, despite reported serious private rifts. As Shadow Chancellor , Brown as Chancellor-in-waiting
11868-514: The legal basis for the war, finding it "far from satisfactory". Lord Goldsmith , the Attorney General , should have provided a detailed written report to Cabinet, but was instead asked to provide oral evidence without extensive questioning, and he did not explain what the basis would be for deciding whether Iraq had violated United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441 . Goldsmith's advice changed between January 2003 – when he said that
11997-593: The majority of the UN Security Council supported the continuation of UN weapons inspections and monitoring. The report does not question Blair's personal belief that there was a case for war, only the way he presented the evidence that he had. The report cleared the Prime Minister's Office of influencing the Iraq Dossier (the "Dodgy Dossier"), which contained the claim that Iraq possessed
12126-470: The need to seek support from the UN, European allies and Arab states, but that he "overestimated his ability to influence US decisions on Iraq". The report accused Blair personally of being too conciliatory towards the US, saying: "Despite concerns about the state of US planning, he did not make an agreement on a satisfactory post-conflict plan a condition of UK participation in military action", and drew attention to
12255-447: The party launched the Not flash, just Gordon advertising campaign, which was seen largely as pre-election promotion of Brown as Prime Minister; however, Brown announced on 6 October that there would be no election any time soon – despite opinion polls showing that he was capable of winning an election should he call one. This proved to be a costly mistake, as during 2008 his party slid behind
12384-521: The party, said that Brown was the "solution", not the "problem"; Home Secretary Smith, Justice Secretary Jack Straw , Schools Secretary Ed Balls and Cabinet Office Minister Ed Miliband all re-affirmed their support for Brown. The Deputy Prime Minister under Blair, John Prescott , also pledged his support. Foreign Secretary David Miliband then denied that he was plotting a leadership bid, when on 30 July, an article written by him in The Guardian
12513-432: The perception of ministers and senior officials". The day after the report was published, Blair conceded that he should have challenged such intelligence reports before relying on them to justify military action in Iraq. Some MI6 staff had also expressed concerns about the quality of its source – in particular, noting that an inaccurate detail about storing chemical weapons in glass containers appeared to have been taken from
12642-546: The press, suggested that ratification by Parliament was not enough and that a referendum should also be held. Labour's 2005 manifesto had pledged to give the British public a referendum on the original EU Constitution . Brown argued that the Treaty significantly differed from the Constitution, and as such did not require a referendum. He also responded with plans for a lengthy debate on the topic, and stated that he believed
12771-400: The right to form "citizens' juries", easily petition Parliament for new laws, and rally outside Westminster. He asserted that the attorney general should not have the right to decide whether to prosecute in individual cases, such as in the loans for peerages scandal. There was speculation during September and early October 2007 about whether Brown would call a snap general election . Indeed,
12900-411: The risks of the war, the report found that this was not taken into account in planning. "The risks of internal strife in Iraq, active Iranian pursuit of its interests, regional instability and Al Qaeda activity in Iraq were each explicitly identified before the invasion". A "can-do" attitude among military officials also led them to downplay dangers and setbacks during briefings. The report also described
13029-492: The role of the UK media. The UK media, "played on the 'hearts and minds' of the British public, constructing a moral case for the Iraq invasion that would convince the general population." John Chilcot Sir John Anthony Chilcot GCB ( / ˈ tʃ ɪ l k ɒ t / ; 22 April 1939 – 3 October 2021) was a British civil servant . In 2009, Chilcot was appointed chairman of the Iraq Inquiry (also referred to as
13158-625: The same symptoms in his right eye. Brown underwent experimental surgery at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and his right eye was saved by a young eye surgeon, Hector Chawla. Brown graduated from Edinburgh with an undergraduate MA degree with First-Class Honours in history in 1972. He stayed on to obtain his PhD degree in history, which he gained ten years later in 1982, defending a thesis titled The Labour Party and Political Change in Scotland 1918–1929 . In his youth at
13287-478: The second rebel to be fired from her job), Jim Dowd , Greg Pope , and a string of others who had previously held positions in government. In the face of this speculation over Brown's future, his ministers backed him to lead the party, and Harriet Harman and David Miliband denied that they were preparing leadership bids. After Labour lost the Glasgow East by-election in July, Harman, the deputy leader of
13416-531: The situation in the city of Basra , where British forces were forced to make a deal with insurgents to end attacks on British troops, as "humiliating". According to the report, British military action did not achieve its goals, and Baghdad and south-east Iraq destabilised rapidly in the wake of the invasion . At the time, the UK was also involved in the War in Afghanistan and military commanders felt that there
13545-514: The start of public hearings, with party leader Nick Clegg accusing the government of "suffocating" the inquiry, referring to the power given to government departments to veto sections of the final report. Meanwhile, a group of anti-war protestors staged a demonstration outside the conference centre. Concerns were also raised about the expertise of the panel, particularly with regard to issues of legality by senior judges. On 22 November 2009, former British Ambassador Oliver Miles published an article in
13674-451: The time of the invasion of Iraq, as the first witness. Opening the proceedings, Sir John Chilcot announced that the inquiry was not seeking to apportion blame but that it would "get to the heart of what happened" and would not "shy away" from making criticism where it was justified. The commission resumed its hearings in January 2011 with the former prime minister, Tony Blair as its prime witness. On 29 October 2009, HM Government published
13803-500: The unpayable Third World debt . On 20 April 2006, in a speech to the United Nations Ambassadors, Brown outlined a " Green " view of global development. In October 2004, Blair announced he would not lead the party into a fourth general election, but would serve a full third term. Political comment over the relationship between Brown and Blair continued up to and beyond the 2005 election , which Labour won with
13932-463: The war began with insufficient time to assess the dangers or prepare the brigades. Soldiers were not issued with key equipment, and there were shortfalls in the provision of helicopters, armoured vehicles and in reconnaissance and intelligence assets. In addition, the MoD was slow to respond to the threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Although military officials presented several concerns about
14061-399: The war on terror as key priorities. On 11 May 2007, after months of speculation, Brown formally announced his bid for the Labour leadership. He launched his campaign website the same day as formally announcing his bid for leadership, titled "Gordon Brown for Britain". On 16 May, Channel 4 News announced that Andrew MacKinlay had nominated Brown, giving him 308 nominations—enough to avoid
14190-544: The world's first Climate Change Act , and introduced the Equality Act 2010 . Despite poll rises just after Brown became prime minister, after he failed to call a snap election in 2007, his popularity fell and Labour's popularity declined with the Great Recession . Labour lost 91 seats in the 2010 general election , resulting in a hung parliament in which the Conservative Party won the most seats. After
14319-643: Was Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 1987 to 1989 and then Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry , before becoming Shadow Chancellor in 1992 following Labour's fourth consecutive defeat in the general election that year. Having led the Labour Movement Yes campaign, refusing to join the cross-party Yes for Scotland campaign, during the 1979 Scottish devolution referendum , while other senior Labour politicians – including Robin Cook , Tam Dalyell and Brian Wilson – campaigned for
14448-474: Was a member of the Butler Review of the misuse of intelligence in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. On 15 June 2009, the then British prime minister Gordon Brown announced that Chilcot would chair an inquiry into the Iraq War , despite his participation in the discredited secret Butler report . Opposition parties, campaigners and back bench members of the governing Labour Party condemned
14577-405: Was accepted by the University of Edinburgh to study history at the same early age of 16. During an end-of-term rugby union match at his old school, he received a kick to the head and experienced a retinal detachment . This left him blind in his left eye, despite treatment including several operations and weeks spent lying in a darkened room. Later at Edinburgh, while playing tennis, he noticed
14706-465: Was announced that the inquiry would be published in June or July 2016. The report was published on 6 July 2016, more than seven years after the inquiry was announced. The report stated that at the time of the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Saddam Hussein did not pose an urgent threat to British interests, that intelligence regarding weapons of mass destruction was presented with too much certainty, that peaceful options to war had not been exhausted, that
14835-658: Was born at the Orchard Maternity Nursing Home in Giffnock , Renfrewshire , Scotland. His father was John Ebenezer Brown (1914–1998), a minister of the Church of Scotland and a strong influence on Brown. His mother was Jessie Elizabeth "Bunty" Brown ( née Souter; 1918–2004); she was the daughter of John Souter, a timber merchant. The family moved to Kirkcaldy – then the largest town in Fife , across
14964-502: Was broadly critical of the actions of the British government and military in making the case for the war, in tactics and in planning for the aftermath of the Iraq War . Richard Norton-Taylor of The Guardian wrote that the report "could hardly be more damning" of Tony Blair and "was an unprecedented, devastating indictment of how a prime minister was allowed to make decisions by discarding all pretence at cabinet government, subverting
15093-420: Was deceiving her and other MPs in an attempt to obtain consent for the invasion of Iraq. Gordon Brown had to retract his claim that spending on defence rose every year during the Iraq war, as this was found not to have been the case. Following a recess to avoid influencing the general election , the inquiry resumed public hearings on 29 June 2010. The first witness was Douglas Brand , chief police adviser to
15222-565: Was elected to Parliament as a Labour MP at his second attempt, for Dunfermline East in the 1983 general election . His first Westminster office mate was a newly elected MP from the Sedgefield constituency, Tony Blair . Brown became an opposition spokesman on Trade and Industry in 1985. In 1986, he published a biography of the Independent Labour Party politician James Maxton , the subject of his doctoral thesis. Brown
15351-460: Was elected to the House of Commons at the 1983 general election as the MP for Dunfermline East. He was appointed to Neil Kinnock 's shadow cabinet in 1989 and was appointed Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer by John Smith in 1992. Following Labour's victory in the 1997 general election , Brown was appointed as Chancellor, becoming the longest-serving in modern history. Brown's time as chancellor
15480-617: Was employed as a lecturer in politics at Glasgow College of Technology . He also worked as a tutor for the Open University . In the 1979 general election , Brown stood for the Edinburgh South constituency, losing to the Conservative candidate, Michael Ancram . From 1980, he worked as a journalist at Scottish Television , later serving as current affairs editor until his election to Parliament in 1983. Brown
15609-462: Was interpreted by a large number in the media as an attempt to undermine Brown. In the article, Miliband outlined the party's future, but neglected to mention the Prime Minister. Miliband, responded to this by saying that he was confident Brown could lead Labour to victory in the next general election, and that his article was an attack against the fatalism in the party since the loss of Glasgow East . Miliband continued to show his support for Brown in
15738-694: Was longer than the King James Version of the Bible , the Complete Works of William Shakespeare , and Tolstoy's War and Peace put together. The report was made available under the Open Government Licence v3.0, although this excluded material supplied by third parties. [REDACTED] The report – described by BBC News as "damning", by The Guardian as a "crushing verdict", and by The Telegraph as "scathing" –
15867-470: Was marked by major reform of Britain's monetary and fiscal policy architecture, transferring interest rate setting to the Bank of England , extension of powers of the Treasury to cover much domestic policy and transferring banking supervision to the Financial Services Authority . Brown presided over the longest period of economic growth in British history. He outlined five economic tests , which resisted
15996-589: Was mentioned by the press in the expenses crisis for claiming for the payment of his cleaner; however, no wrongdoing was found and the Commons Authority did not pursue Brown over the claim. Meanwhile, the Commons Fees Office stated that a double payment for a £153 plumbing repair bill was a mistake on their part and that Brown had repaid it in full. During his Labour leadership campaign Brown proposed some policy initiatives, which he called
16125-450: Was more potential for success there, which meant that equipment, manpower and the attention of commanders were diverted from Iraq in the later stages of the war, exacerbating difficulties. In a statement to the House of Commons the afternoon after the inquiry's report was released, the then Prime Minister David Cameron refused to say whether the Iraq War was "a mistake" or "wrong" and rejected calls for an apology to be issued on behalf of
16254-575: Was seen as a good choice by business and the middle class. During his tenure as Chancellor, the rate of inflation sometimes exceeded the 2% target; the Governor of the Bank of England , under the rules governing the Bank's role, wrote an explanatory letter to the Chancellor on each occasion inflation exceeded three per cent. Following a reorganisation of Westminster constituencies in Scotland in 2005, Brown became MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath at
16383-475: Was sweet and gentle and obviously cut out to make somebody a very good wife. She was bright, too, though not like him, but they seemed made for each other." In 1972, while still a student, Brown was elected Rector of the University of Edinburgh , the convener of the University Court . He served as Rector until 1975, and also edited the document The Red Paper on Scotland . From 1976 to 1980 Brown
16512-472: Was the Deputy Prime Minister at the time of the Iraq War, said that the war was illegal. The Financial Times reported, 'Every previous inquiry into Britain's decision to invade Iraq has swiftly been condemned by the public as a "whitewash". Such a description hardly applies to the monumental inquest that has been published by Sir John Chilcot. ... After Lord Hutton's report in 2003 and
16641-506: Was traduced and undermined by the way in which the decision to go to war was taken on". In a statement by Alex Salmond released after the inquiry's report was issued, the Scottish National Party said: "After such carnage, people will ask inevitable questions of was conflict inevitable and worthwhile? The answer from Chilcot is undoubtedly no. And who is responsible? The answer is undoubtedly Tony Blair. There must now be
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