Alastair Campbell cleared of 'sexing up' intelligence dossier ahead of Iraq War
Mr Campbell denied accusation throughout his time as Tony Blair's Director of Communications
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair’s pugnacious Director of Communications, has been cleared by Sir John Chilcot of the often-repeated accusation that he ‘sexed up’ an intelligence dossier that was presented to Parliament before the Iraq war.
It was the single most serious accusation levelled against Mr Campbell during his nine years as Tony Blair’s chief spin doctor, and one which he vehemently denied.
Follow the latest live updates
It angered him so much that he impulsively turned up in the Channel 4 studio to be interviewed live on air by Jon Snow so that he coudl get his denial on the public record.
Mr Blair admitted in his memoirs that he had not realised at the time how badly the accusation had affected his communications chief.
The allegation was first raised on the Today programme in May 2003, by the journalist Andrew Gilligan, who was relying on a conversation he had had with the weapons expert Dr David Kelly. Dr Kelly committed suicide after being publicly named as Gilligan's source.
Sir John Chilcot’s report says that no one tampered with the dossier that was presented to Parliament in September 2002, which accurately represented the available intelligence – though Sir John critiicised the accompanying foreword supplied by Tony Blair.
“There is no evidence that intelligence was improperly included in the dossier or that No 10 improperly influenced the text,” the report concludes.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments