London: British Prime Minister Gordon
Brown will be quizzed by the Iraq Inquiry before the general
election, it was announced on Friday.
Inquiry chairman Sir John Chilcot said the prime
minister has agreed to appear "within the next two months".
It follows pressure from opposition parties for him to
give evidence before the election, scheduled before June 3.
The Iraq Inquiry, which is investigating the
circumstances surrounding the 2003 invasion, originally said
Brown and other senior ministers wouldn't appear, in an effort
to keep proceedings clear of party politics.
A spokesman of 10 Downing Street said Brown had
"nothing to hide" and the decision was not connected to former
Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon's evidence to the inquiry.
He said the prime minister was "keen to take up the
opportunity to state the case about why Britain was right to
take the action it did in respect to Iraq".
Hoon was critical of government funding for defence
when he appeared before the inquiry on Tuesday, saying the
department was underfunded for many years and requests for
"significantly more money" were turned down.
Chilcot said he had agreed to move Brown's testimony
forward "as a matter of fairness."
Also expected to testify in the inquiry before April
are Foreign Secretary David Miliband and International
Development Secretary Douglas Alexander.
PTI
First Published: Friday, January 22, 2010, 21:02