He was defence secretary as Britain edged towards war – which means Geoff Hoon had a front-row seat for the most controversial moments in Sir Tony’s premiership. His new memoir reveals astonishing insights about the conflict in Iraq… and raises more troubling questions about his former boss’s knighthood.
Downing Street’s orders to ‘burn’ legal advice
Mr Hoon, then defence secretary, says No 10 ordered him to ‘burn’ secret legal advice from Sir Tony’s attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, which said the Iraq war could be illegal.
When the claim first emerged in 2015, the former PM said it was ‘nonsense’ – but Mr Hoon insists in his book, See How They Run, that the order was delivered by Sir Tony’s No 10 chief of staff Jonathan Powell. The order was defied by Mr Hoon who made sure that the information was kept safe in the Ministry of Defence.
The book: ‘British troops must act in accordance with the law. Mike Boyce, Chief of Defence Staff, pressured me into giving him clear legal authority, allowing him and his force to move.
‘Without a clear mandate in the form of a second UN resolution authorising the use of force, the UK’s participation in any invasion depended on a complex interaction involving several not entirely consistent UN resolutions. The question was to be resolved by Lord Goldsmith. His legal opinion was very lengthy and detailed, which only the most knowledgeable scholars of international law could understand.
‘I was sent a copy from Downing St under conditions of considerable secrecy. It was only for me and I shouldn’t discuss the contents. It was unknown to me who had had a copy.
He was defence secretary as Britain edged towards war – which means Geoff Hoon had a front-row seat for the most controversial moments in Sir Tony’s premiership. His new memoir reveals astonishing insights about the conflict in Iraq… and raises more troubling questions about his former boss’s knighthood (Hoon pictured in 2005)
Over 130,000 people signed a petition calling on former Prime Minister Tony Blair to be stripped of his knighthood. Massive backlash against the award of the former Labour leader knighthood in New Year’s honors lists has erupted.
‘I read the opinion several times; it was not an easy read. Eventually I came to the view that the attorney general had decided that invading Iraq would be lawful if the Prime Minister believed that it was in the UK’s national interest to do so. This was not the endorsement the Chief of Defence Staff wanted. I wasn’t allowed to display it or discuss it with him. Moreover, when my Principal Private Secretary, Peter Watkins, called Jonathan Powell in Downing St and asked what he should now do with the document, he was told in no uncertain terms that he should “burn it”.
‘Peter Watkins was the very model of a principled British civil servant, and that instruction worried him greatly. After asking me for my advice, he suggested we lock the document in an MoD safe that only he would have access to. For all I know it is probably still there.’
Blair and Bush’s 2002 Texas summit
Mr Hoon appears to back claims that Sir Tony signed a ‘deal in blood’ with George W Bush when they met in April 2002 at the President’s ranch in Crawford, Texas, to discuss a war with Iraq.
Sir Tony always refuted the claim. He claimed that he sought a diplomatic solution at the time.
However, leaked White House memos showed that US Secretary of State Colin Powell assured Bush a week before the summit that ‘Blair will be with us’ if the war went ahead.
The book: ‘Shortly after Tony Blair’s visit to Crawford, an invitation came from the Americans for British involvement in the planning. It was not clear to me at that time that this was the outcome of any agreements he had made with Americans. Even months after the vote in Parliament, I believed the conditional British involvement in the invasion. The Crawford meeting has, in retrospect, assumed much greater significance, and involved much greater controversy than was apparent at the time.’
Following their press conference held at Crawford High School (Crawford, Texas) in 2002, US President George W. Bush (right), and British Prime Minster Tony Blair, wave to each other.
The ‘45 minutes from doom’ dossier
Notorious media reports claimed Iraq had weapons that meant UK sites were ‘45 minutes from doom’. The claim arose from a dossier on Saddam Hussein’s weapons drawn up by intelligence chiefs. Sir Tony and his director of communications, Alastair Campbell, denied responsibility – but Mr Hoon points the finger of blame directly at Downing St.
The book: ‘I was asked by a lawyer at [one of the official Iraq inquiries] why I had not corrected a newspaper story that had suggested that the so called “45-minute warning” referred to the possibility that Saddam Hussein could launch missiles against British bases in Cyprus.
‘I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about at the time. Later, I discovered that the question was referring to articles from The Sun and Evening Standard. These included photos of missile launches. After I compared the publication date with my own diary, I found that I was actually in Kiev when the President of Ukraine made the announcement. I had obviously been aware of the “45-minute warning” issue. In fact, I asked for a Defence Intelligence expert to help me understand the meaning of the warning when it was first circulated. The time it took to launch and disarm a chemical-artillery shell was what he said to me. Since it was well known that Saddam Hussein had used such shells in the war with Iran – and against his own people – the explanation did not cause any great surprise.
‘I had absolutely no idea at the time of giving my evidence to the Hutton inquiry that the “45-minute warning” issue had been deployed by the press office in Downing St in a very different context.’
Roaring PM
The minister recalls that Sir Tony reacted furiously when Mr Hoon informed the Americans British troops wouldn’t be allowed to participate in a conflict if the MPs opposed it.
The book: ‘I had one of my regular phone calls with Donald Rumsfeld. He needed me to tell him that Britain wouldn’t be allowed to invade if they lost the election later in that day.
‘I was not expecting to lose but thought it appropriate to explain the political and constitutional significance of what was happening in the Commons. [Mr Rumsfeld] went from the call to a press conference where he referred to our conversation, stating that… they had “work-arounds” to compensate for a possible British no-show.
‘The British media took it as meaning that the UK was not really needed; a story that run through the lunchtime news bulletins. As they concluded, I received a comprehensive Prime Ministerial bollocking over the telephone.’
A 1st Batallion The Parachute Regiment soldier conducts training with a Chinook helicopter over the Kuwaiti desert on Monday, March 17, 2003
Hang out to dry
Mr Hoon was sacked as defence secretary over the phone in 2005 – two years after the Iraq war began.
The book: ‘When Tony told me he had to “let me go” as Defence Secretary I was seriously unimpressed. He wanted me to go after I’d worked for six years in the toughest, most demanding, and least popular jobs within his government.
‘I was sufficiently irritated to protest that it was “unfair”. It annoyed me that he didn’t choose to meet me face to face. He was unable to give out bad news – even bad news of his own making.
‘I did wonder whether it was a media scheme dreamed up by Alastair Campbell to distance at least part of the Government from Iraq, but given that joining in the war had been driven through by Tony, that hardly made sense.
‘I always had doubts about his handling and treatment of people. His strongest supporters seemed to be completely indifferent.
‘I was hung out to dry. Tony felt that being PM was his only important job. He didn’t care who was appointed to which ministry. It was said that attending dinner parties in Islington was more significant than any number of speeches in support of him.’
Mr Hoon (R) was sacked as defence secretary over the phone in 2005 – two years after the Iraq war began (Blair and Hoon pictured together in 2004)