§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Prime Minister if he will release to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration the full advice of the Attorney General on the legality of the war with Iraq; and if he will make a statement. [159588]
§ The Prime MinisterIn evidence to the Public Administration Select Committee on 4 March, the Cabinet Secretary made clear that discussions with the Parliamentary Ombudsman are continuing as part of the normal process of handling these cases. The Government believe that the Attorney-General's advice on the legality of the military action against Iraq is covered by exemptions 2 and 4 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
§ Llew SmithTo ask the Prime Minister which members of the Cabinet were provided with a copy of the Attorney-General's full opinion on the legality of military action against Iraq in March 2003. [159937]
§ The Prime MinisterIt is established practice not to disclose details of internal discussion and advice or details of the circulation of papers to the Cabinet in line with exemption 2 of Part 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
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§ Llew SmithTo ask the Prime Minister what representations were made by UK Government(a) ministers, (b) agencies and (c) Departments to (i) Dr. David Kay and (ii) the Iraq Survey Group (A) before and (b) during the preparation of its first draft report. [159943]
§ The Prime MinisterThe UK has a number of civilian and military personnel attached to the Iraq Survey Group who are part of the process in investigating Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programmes. As part of this process, some would have contributed to the drafting of Dr. Kay's interim report on the work of the Iraq Survey Group.