MPS want action on Chilcot war power call

Tougher safeguards are needed to prevent a prime minister taking the country to war without adequate Cabinet consultation, MPS have said.

The Commons public administration and constitutional affairs committee said that a key finding of the Chilcot Inquiry into the run-up to the Iraq War regarding lack of Cabinet discussion had not been acted on.

The committee’s report states that although the Cabinet Secretary must make sure that scrutiny of decisions happens in line with the Cabinet handbook, their only resort is to resign if a prime minister decides to ignore them.

MPS have recommended that the Cabinet Secretary should be able to ask the PM for a written direction to ignore normal processes, and be able to decide whether to make it known to Parliament.

The report says: “If the Cabinet Secretary asks for such a direction, it should be at his or her discretion whether this direction should be made immediately known to Parliament … such a mechanism would dispel any doubt about the Cabinet Secretary’s duty to ensure proper decision making.”