Gordon Brown will appear at the Chilcot Inquiry before the election

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982

Gordon Brown will give evidence to the Chilcot Inquiry before the general election.

Yesterday, the PM said at PMQs that he had written to Sir John Chilcot to say he was willing to appear at the Inquiry in London “whenever you see fit”. The letter said:

“I am clear that it is a matter for you how you conduct the Inquiry and that it is, and must remain, entirely independent of Government…In undertaking this you have rightly chosen the order you wish to receive evidence. For my part, I want to make it absolutely clear I am prepared to give evidence whenever you see fit. I remain happy to take your advice on this matter.”

It is of course right that someone who was Chancellor at the time of the war – and who essentially held the purse strings – should be questioned as a part of an open and honest process which weeks to determine the background to the invasion. Without Brown’s evidence, the Inquiry would inevitably have been called a whitewash; with evidence not given until after the election, it would have been an ongoing albatross.

The date for the PM’s appearance has not yet been confirmed, but it will be a massive news story when it does occur – and may have profound consequences on the tone, tactics and coverage of the general election, if not the outcome.

Congratulations to Nick Clegg for putting the question in last week’s PMQs.