They include full transcripts of extraordinarily frank classified interviews in which British Army commanders vent their frustration and anger with ministers and Whitehall officials.

The reports disclose that:

Tony Blair, the former prime minister, misled MPs and the public throughout 2002 when he claimed that Britain’s objective was “disarmament, not regime change” and that there had been no planning for military action. In fact, British military planning for a full invasion and regime change began in February 2002.

The need to conceal this from Parliament and all but “very small numbers” of officials “constrained” the planning process. The result was a “rushed”operation “lacking in coherence and resources” which caused “significant risk” to troops and “critical failure” in the post-war period.

Operations were so under-resourced that some troops went into action with only five bullets each. Others had to deploy to war on civilian airlines, taking their equipment as hand luggage. Some troops had weapons confiscated by airport security.

Commanders reported that the Army’s main radio system “tended to drop out at around noon each day because of the heat”. One described the supply chain as “absolutely appalling”, saying: “I know for a fact that there was one container full of skis in the desert.”

The Foreign Office unit to plan for postwar Iraq was set up only in late February, 2003, three weeks before the war started.

Read more telegraph.co.uk

Britain is now being watched by a staggering 4.2million – one for every 14 people and a fifth of the cameras in the entire world.

The Royal Academy of Engineering also warned that lives could be put at risk by the lurch towards a ‘big brother’ society in which the Government and even supermarkets hold huge amounts of personal information on us.

It said any system was vulnerable to abuse – including bribery of staff and computer hackers gaining access.

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LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will call on Monday for an expansion of global broadcasting in Iran and more material in Farsi published on the Internet in an effort to support Iranians’ aspirations for greater freedom.

At a time when Iran is locked in a dispute with the international community over its nuclear programme, Foreign Minister Jack Straw will say in a speech, extracts of which were obtained by Reuters, that the Islamic state is heading in the wrong direction.

He will urge world organisations to boost the information flow to Iranians who may have little access to outside news.

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Source

LONDON – Prime Minister Tony Blair, who wrenched his party from the left to the center of the political spectrum, said he had been inspired to enter politics by a book about socialist icon Leon Trotsky.

At a World Book Day event at London’s Commonwealth Club earlier this week, Blair said Isaac Deutscher’s biography of the Russian communist leader was the book that meant the most to him.

Deutscher’s three-volume work — “The Prophet Armed,” “The Prophet Unarmed” and “The Prophet Outcast” — paints a sympathetic portrait of Trotsky, who helped Vladimir Lenin lead the 1917 Russian revolution but was later driven out by Joseph Stalin. He was murdered by an agent of Stalin in Mexico in 1940.

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Some 108,000 people lost their jobs last year, the Office for National Statistics reported. It was the fastest rise since the tail-end of the last recession in 1993 and prompted warnings that the employment “golden age” had come to an end.

Some 1.5 million people, 5.2 per cent of the working-age population, are unemployed – the largest number for more than three years. A further record 7.95 million people are “economically inactive”, a category that includes long-term sick, students and stay-at-home mothers and fathers.

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[Could the above be in any linked to the story below?-ed]

Britain ‘leads way in letting in new workers’

Britain was held up by Brussels yesterday as a shining example for France and the rest of “Old Europe” to follow when it comes to letting in workers from the former Communist bloc.

Since eight former Communist nations joined the EU 18 months ago only Britain, Ireland and Sweden have opened their borders to workers from those countries. Other nations from the old 15-member EU have imposed quotas and permit schemes to shield domestic workers from a feared flood of “Polish plumbers” and other cheap labour.

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Fifteen-year-old “Nayirah” (Nijirah al-Sabah) testified before the United States Congress in October 1990 that she was a refugee volunteering in the maternity ward of Al Adan hospital in Kuwait City, and that during the occupation by Iraq she had witnessed Iraqi soldiers dumping Kuwaiti infants out of their incubators “on[to] the cold floor to die,” and then leaving with the machines. The testimony came at a crucial time for the Bush administration, which was pressing for military action to eject Iraq from Kuwait. Nayirah’s story was widely reported by the media and Bush referred to the story six times in the next five weeks. The story was an influence in tipping both the public and Congress towards a war with Iraq: six Congressmen would say Nayirah’s testimony was enough for them to support military action against Iraq and seven Senators referenced the testimony in debate. The Senate supported the military actions in a 52-47 vote.

In reality, Citizens for a Free Kuwait, organized by the exiled Kuwaiti government, had hired Hill & Knowlton to gain support for the US counterstrike. Hill & Knowlton was paid US $14 million by the US government for its help in promoting the Gulf War. It was not revealed until later that the girl was actually the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador to the US. Frieda Construe-Nag and Myra Ancog Cooke, two maternity nurses in that ward, later said that they had never seen Nayirah there and that the baby-dumping had never happened.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nurse_Nayirah

The European Union has given a $24 million (320,000 euros) grant to a Jamaican human rights lobby group, known for its resistance to the government’s proposed reinstatement of capital punishment on the island.

The Independent Jamaican Council for Human Rights (IJCHR), which is based in the capital, Kingston, said the grant will be used to open a second office in Montego Bay and will also fund advocacy training.

A.J. Nicholson, the Justice Minister, said the EU’s backing of the lobby group confirmed the government’s suspicions that others were determined to stop the country from resuming hanging.

Although not surprised by the EU’s move, the minister insisted the government would still go ahead with the re-introducing the death penalty despite the resistance from national and international opposition.

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The new Party leader appealed to every woman in Britain, and everyone from a black or ethnic minority background, who shares his passion to change Britain for the better and who shares our values to apply to stand for Parliament in the Conservative cause.

He said: “We are looking for you, the brightest and the best – to join our mission, to make your contribution, and to help make our country a better place to live. I promise that we will welcome you, look after you and give you all the support you need.”

Improving candidate selection: David Cameron’s 5-point positive action plan

1. Freeze on all candidate selections while a new system that guarantees diversity, fairness and meritocracy is put in place.

2. Priority list of candidates drawn up for target and Conservative-held seats, comprising the brightest and best candidates, with equal numbers of men and women and a significant proportion of black and ethnic minority candidates, and candidates with disabilities.

3. Full progress check review after three months, and in the unlikely event that further action is required, it will be taken.

4. Intensive programme of headhunting and mentoring to attract the brightest and best women and ethnic minorities to apply to become candidates.

5. Community involvement in candidate selection, either through community panels evaluating candidates, or through primaries.

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British foreign secretary Jack Straw has praised Israel for the “astonishing amount” it has achieved since the establishment of the state nearly 60 years ago.

Speaking to the Labour Friends of Israel lobby group last Wednesday, Straw also noted the important contribution British Jews have made to UK society over the last 350 years.

At the meeting Straw noted the technological and scientific achievements Israel has made as well as the democratic resilience.

We must make every effort for a new beginning with renewed efforts to support the peace process

Jack Straw:

He said: “In nearly six decades, Israel has achieved an astonishing amount. It has built a thriving democracy in a region historically dominated by autocratic regimes.

“And, as a leading global competitor in areas such as medicine, scientific research, and information technology, it now has one of the most advanced economies in the world.

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