Business of the House

Paul Flynn Excerpts

Thursday 9th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. All of us regard with some concern some of the recent developments in Turkey. As a Government we urge the Turkish Administration to follow all the principles of democracy and fair justice in a democratic society. It is in their interests to do so, and if they aspire to join the European Union in future, whether we are in it or out of it, they will have to do that.

[Paul Flynn (Newport West) (Lab)]

I refer to early-day motion 155.

[That this House congratulates the BBC for a vivid and restrained account of the suffering of the loved ones of the British soldier Tom Keys who was killed in the Iraq War caused, in his father's opinion, by the lie of the threat from non-existent weapons of mass destruction; looks forward to the publication of the Chilcot Inquiry Report, but is concerned that attempts may be made to invent a fictionalised history of the reasons for the UK's involvement in the second Iraq War; and recalls a letter sent to Tony Blair by the hon. Member for Newport West in March 2003 which warned that the world would be a more dangerous place at the end of hostilities in Iraq than it was before, and that the UK's involvement in President Bush’s Iraq War would deepen the sense of grievance among Muslims that the Western and Christian world seeks to oppress them and that this would provide a propaganda victory to Osama bin Laden that would increase his support and the likelihood of more acts of terrorism.]

When may we debate the motion about the Iraq war, a decision of this House that resulted in the deaths of 179 of our brave British soldiers, and the need for a new and swift inquiry—a parliamentary inquiry—into a decision of this House that resulted in the deaths of 438 of our courageous British soldiers? That was the decision in 2006 where only six of our soldiers had died in combat, and the decision was to go into Helmand province in the belief that not a shot would be fired. In the interests of informing our future conduct, is it not right that we set up that inquiry into the Helmand incursion as swiftly as possible and understand the consequences of that terrible decision?

[Chris Grayling]

The hon. Gentleman talks about separate inquiries, but we have the vehicles in this House for carrying out such inquiries; the job of Select Committees is to carry out precisely the kinds of investigations and lesson-learning that he has just described. It is always open to the Defence Committee, and indeed the Foreign Affairs Committee, to carry out such work if they so wish.