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Éire Nua

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Éire Nua, or "New Ireland", was a proposal supported by the Provisional IRA and Sinn Féin during the 1970s and early 1980s for afederal all-Ireland republic. The proposal was particularly associated with the Dublin-based leadership group centered on Ruairí Ó Brádaigh and Dáithí Ó Conaill, who were the authors of the policy.^[1]

Éire Nua is still supported by Republican Sinn Féin.

Contents

  [hide] 

• 1 Ideology
• 2 Reactions and decline in popularity
• 3 References
• 4 External links

Ideology[edit]

Éire Nua envisaged an all-Ireland republic that would be created when the British withdrew from Northern Ireland. It also involved the dissolution of the existing Republic of Ireland, which republicans of that era considered an illegitimate entity imposed by the British in 1922. Under Éire Nua, Ireland would become a federal state with parliaments for each of its four historic provinces, as well as a central parliament based in Athlone.^[2]The purpose of the federal structure was twofold. Firstly, it was intended to show unionists in Northern Ireland that they would have some kind of self-government in a united Ireland. This would be achieved by the provision of a parliament, Dáil Uladh, for Ulster. However, by including all of historic Ulster - nine counties instead of the six in Northern Ireland - it was intended that the unionist majority would be slim enough to prevent abuses against the Catholic/nationalist population in the province.^[3]Secondly, the federal parliaments were intended to redress the perceived economic imbalance between the eastern and western parts of Ireland, and was hoped to enable prosperity in the poorer west of the country.Reactions and decline in popularity[edit]Many members of Sinn Féin, particularly in the north, objected to Éire Nua on the grounds that it would perpetuate the dominance of Protestant unionists in the north of the country. Despite this, Éire Nua committees were established at least in Ulster and Connacht, largely due to the efforts of Desmond Fennell and Emmett O'Connell.^[4] Nevertheless, the scheme was dismissed as unworkable by some influential Republicans. When Northern Republicans grouped around Gerry Adams gained control of the IRA and Sinn Féin in the late 1970s, they attacked the policy. In 1982, the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis voted to drop the policy, and the following year all reference to it in the Sinn Féin Constitution and rules was removed, and it was removed as the policy of the Republican movement in favour of the creation of a unitary Irish Republic.^[5]Ó Brádaigh and his supporters walked out of the 1986 Ard Fheis after a motion was passed that ended the Republican policy ofabstentionism to the Oireachtas and reconvened the Ard Fheis at the West County Hotel in the village of Chapelizod just west of Dublin. Henceforth referring to itself as Republican Sinn Féin to distinguish itself from former associates, the party still advocates the Éire Nua agenda.

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Northmen, Southmen, comrades all start out on the road to France

Keane strikes first blow of O’Neill era

Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane shake hands after the win in the Aviva last night. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

Frank McNally

• Topics:
• Sport
• Soccer
• Aiden Mcgeady
• Andy Reid
• James Mcclean
• Martin Laugh-In
• Martin O Neill
• Shane Long

Sat, Nov 16, 2013, 01:00

First published:Sat, Nov 16, 2013, 01:00

   

The home team was under new management, but a little confusingly, it was also business as usual at Lansdowne Road last night. After all the hype about one Keane this week, it was the other who struck the first blow of the Martin O’Neill era, striker Robbie scoring the 62nd goal of a ludicrously prolific career.

In keeping with tradition, he then missed a couple he should have scored. So some things never change. But any danger of the Roy and Martin Laugh-In being spoiled on its debut disappeared when Aiden McGeady drilled home a second, and then Shane Long a third, to complete the rout.

By the time McGeady made way for Andy Reid, returning from the wilderness to resounding applause, the Aviva Stadium was in party mode, and a good-sized attendance was restoring the Lansdowne roar to something like its former glory.

All told, it was a pleasantly relaxed start to the post-Trapattoni regime. Irelandoutclassed a limited Latvian side, playing more dinky one-twos that we saw in the last two years of the ultra-cautious Italian.

Next to that, the most dramatic departure of the night was the spectacle of an Irish football pitch being watered heavily — in November! — at half time. Maybe it was because of the mild weather, and the rugby today.

Or maybe the ground staff were worried that the new Irish midfield would wear the grass out, unaccustomed as it has been in recent years to having much contact with the ball.

It also seemed significant that the first man of the match award of the O’Neill-Keane went to inveterate tweeter and Wolfe Tones fan James McClean. It won’t have been lost on McClean that the Ireland team and management now comprises Northmen, Southmen, comrades all/Dublin, Belfast, Cork, and Donegal — or near enough.

Anyway, he was clearly enjoying himself, even if his shots on goal still have a habit of ending up on the road to God knows where. As for the team in general, it’s too early to say where they’re headed, exactly. But for now, there are reasons for hope that it may be Euro 2016 in France.

Dream launch for the Dream Team as Ireland ease past Latvia

If it’s to be a journey of a thousand miles, this was no bad single step

Republic of Ireland assistant manager Roy Keane celebrates a goal during the international friendly at the Aviva Stadium. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA.

Malachy Clerkin

• Topics:
• Sport
• Soccer
• International

Sat, Nov 16, 2013, 01:00

First published:Sat, Nov 16, 2013, 01:00

   

By the end, it was hard to imagine how the opening week of Martin O’Neill’s tenure could have gone better. Life infused back into the Ireland set-up, the makings of a crowd – if not quite a crowd just yet – back in the Aviva and a 3-0 win tucked away. The goals came from Robbie Keane, Aiden McGeady and Shane Long – the curtain pulled up, the music started.

Before we go anywhere, the caveats. Steve Staunton’s reign started with a 3-0 win over a Sweden team that had far more going for it than the Latvian one who turned up in the Aviva last night.

O’Neill warned us afterwards his side won’t always be able to play the ball around with the ease they had last night. For all that, he couldn’t have asked for much more.

Sterner tests“I’m delighted,” he said. “Delighted with the team, delighted with the performance. I accept the fact that there are sterner tests ahead, of course we know that. There’s one on Tuesday night.

• Training cones and bibs would have offered better opposition than lethargic Latvians
• Keane’s 62nd international goal helps to launch the O’Neill reign in great style

“But it was nice to win and we played some lovely football as well. And the crowd were terrific, so it was an exhilarating evening for us.

“The first goal was important, regardless of how we set out. . . When we got back down to it again, then we were absolutely fine. We scored three goals and we could have scored a few more.

“So overall, delighted with the team. We tried to press a wee bit further up the pitch so that the players in our team who can really play – and we have a one or two who can definitely do that – wouldn’t have too far to go to the opposition goal.”

And in more good news for O’Neill, Romania’s loss to Greece in last night’s World Cup play-off first leg should mean that Ireland will be second seeds for the qualifying stages of Euro 2016.

Latvia played like they knew their role, the play-dead tomato can lined up build confidence for the road ahead. They stood off, they half-tackled, they had no higher purpose in mind than limiting the damage.

Apart from a brief spell of defiance at the beginning of the second half, they presented no challenge. That they finished the night with just two attempts on goal tells its own story.

That Ireland finished with 20 tells an encouraging tale too. The side O’Neill sent out was full of intent and brio, with speed on the wings in James McClean and Aiden McGeady and craft inside in James McCarthy and Wes Hoolahan.

Andy Reid made an appearance for the last half an hour as well. Pick any cause célèbre you like from the Trap years and they got handed the reins at some point. At times it looked like a game that had been put on especially for McCarthy. He won’t find a team better set up to showcase his set of skills this side of his testimonial.

Sweet-spot volleyHe could have had a goal of his own a minute in, a sweet-spot volley from a half-cleared corner catching John O’Shea when it looked destined for the net.

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• 15 Nov 2013ENGLAND

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LOYALISTS AGAINST DEMOCRACY: Stop Appeasing Fanaticism

RUNNING OUT OF STEAM DAY 125 ?

Loyalists against Democracy: Stop Appeasing Fanaticism

TRUTH WILL SET US FREE

• 

  3:20am
  

  Antony Mulvihill
  

  
  

  HACE A LOT OF IFO FO A START

  Republican Sinn Féin June 14, 2013 at 3:00 am - June 15, 2013 at 3:00 am Belfast (Unknown) Irish Republican Alternative to the G8

  Republican Sinn Féin will be holding an Irish Anti-Imperialist Forum as a counter to the G8 Summit in June. The Anti-Imperialist Forum/Republican Alternative to the G8 will take place in Belfast on June 14 and 15. The forum will discuss all aspects of imperialism both in terms of British imperialism in Ireland as well as the new imperialism of the EU, ECB and IMF as experienced by the people of the 26 Counties. Delegates from international anti-imperialist organisations will provide a world Irish Anti-Imperialist Forum 2013 - Fórum Frith-Impiriúlachas na h-Éireannperspective.

  It is intended as a forum for political and community activists from throughout Ireland and abroad to discuss the various political, social and economic aspects of imperialism from both an Irish as well as an international perspective. Such a debate can be used to chart a way forward towards building an Irish and international alternative to the neo-liberal political and economic policies of the G8 and other trans global imperialist organisations.

  More details of the Anti-Imperialist forum will be released over the coming weeks. URGENT MOBILISATION FOR STEPHEN MURNEY Éirígí January 12, 2013 at 10:30 pm - January 13, 2013 at 1:30 am Monaghan Street , Newry () URGENT! Mobilisation Notice

  Justice for Stephen Murney,

  White Line Picket, Monaghan Street, Newry, 12.30pm, Saturday, January 12th

  End Political Policing Now!

  All Welcome. Bígí Linn.

  On Saturday, December 1st, 2012, Stephen Murney, a political activist from Newry, appeared in court on a number of spurious charges including the 'possession of items likely to be of use to terrorists' and the 'collecting and distributing of information likely to be of use to terrorists'. The 'evidence' produced by the PSNI in support of these charges would be laughable if the situation were not so serious.
  

  In support of the charge of 'possession of items likely to be of use to terrorists' the PSNI cited two 'air guns' as well as jumpers, berets and trousers that were found in Stephen's house. The fact that the 'air guns' were harmless, legal toys made no difference to Britain's political police. And nor did the fact that the items of clothing were clearly part of the uniform of Stephen's old flute band.

  In support of the charge of 'collecting and distributing information likely to be of use to terrorists' the PSNI cited images of the police recovered from Stephen's computer. So what were these images and where did they come from? Like any political activist, or indeed student of history, Stephen has used internet search engines to find out more about key events of the last forty years. As a result his computer contains photos relating to the civil rights movement, Bloody Sunday, the 1981 Hunger Strike and other events right up to the present day - photos which by their very nature contain images of both the RUC and PSNI.

  In addition to these internet-sourced photos Stephen also had a number of photos of PSNI members taken in more recent times in the Newry area. All of these photos were taken in full view of the PSNI when they were in uniform and on duty at commemorations, protests and other political events. Because Stephen chose to post these images on Facebook and other social media platforms he now stands accused of 'distributing' information likely to be of use to 'terrorists'. All across the world political activists are routinely advised by legal and civil rights experts to document the behaviour of the police at these type of political events. When they do so in Syria and Libya they are deemed to be heroes; when they do so in Ireland they are hauled before the courts.

  On Friday, December 21st, Stephen applied for bail in the Belfast High Court. While he was granted bail, the terms that were attached to it were too onerous for Stephen to accept. These terms included a ban on Stephen entering not only his own home, but the entire city of Newry; the constant wearing of an electronic tag; a night time curfew and daily signing-on at Newtonhamilton PSNI barracks. For taking this principled stand against state oppression Stephen spend his Christmas in Maghaberry Jail and is now facing up to two years imprisonment before trial. Were Stephen to be convicted of the charges against him he may face many more years of incarceration.

  Whether you agree with Stephen's politics (he is a member of éirígí) or not, is irrelevant. It is abundantly clear that Stephen Murney is the victim of political policing in the Six Counties. He is in Maghaberry Jail because he has been a consistent and vocal opponent of the PSNI and the Stormont administration. If the British state can imprison one person on the basis of the 'evidence' produced against Stephen, they can imprison us all. Support the call for Stephen's release and join the protest on Monaghan Street in Newry at 12.30pm on Saturday, January 12th. All welcome. Bígí linn. Please forward this to others who may be interested.
• 
  
• 

  3:21am
  

  Antony Mulvihill
  

  
  

  NUX ORE. ANTONY TREASON

  VISON DUCKED

Eamon Collins

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Not to be confused with the Irish footballer Eamonn Collins.

Eamon Collins (1954 - 27 January 1999) was a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) paramilitary in the late 1970s and 1980s. He turned his back on the organisation in the late 1980s and later co-authored a book called Killing Rage telling of his experiences in the IRA. He was killed in 1999, it is presumed by his former IRA colleagues, for testifying against Thomas 'Slab' Murphy in a civil trial inDublin.

Contents [hide]
1 Early life
2 IRA career
3 "Supergrass"
4 Post-IRA life
5 Death
6 References
7 External links
Early life[edit]

It was in Camlough, a small town in south Armagh, that Eamon Collins grew up.[1] After finishing school, he worked for a time in the civil service in London before he started studying law at Queen's University.[1] On Easter, 1974, as Eamon Collins walked home to his parents' home in south Armagh, he saw his father being beaten by British soldiers.[2] He was himself badly beaten when he tried to stop them, and then they were both detained.[3]

However, he was contemptuous of the Provisional IRA in the early 1970s, seeing them as representing a simplistic Irish nationalist, militarist programme. Collins himself was attracted to Marxist politics.[citation needed]

He never completed his degree. After working in a pub for a period, he joined the Customs Service of Northern Ireland. Around this time, Collins also got married. He and his wife were later to have four children together. At the same time he was also preparing to become a republican paramilitary.
IRA career[edit]

He joined the IRA at the height of the blanket protest by H-block prisoners in the late 1970s, who wanted Special Category Status for republican prisoners. Collins became involved in street demonstrations at the time and was impressed by the left-wing politics of the new generation of republican leadership that had emerged in the late 1970s.

Collins joined the South Down Brigade of the IRA, based around Newry. This was not one of the organisation's most active units, but it sometimes worked with the South Armagh Brigade, which was the most effective of the IRA's command areas.[citation needed] Collins says in his book Killing Rage that he never felt able to kill anyone himself, but instead became the South Down Brigade's "intelligence officer".

This involved gathering intelligence on intended assassination and bombing targets. His planning was directly responsible for at least five killings, including that of Ulster Defence Regiment Major Ivan Toombs. Many of the bombing targets of Collins' unit were of limited significance. For example, they destroyed the public library in Newry and a pub where a police choir drank after practice.

Collins became noted for his hard-line views on the continuance of armed struggle within the IRA and later becoming part of the nutting squad. On the promptings of the South Armagh Brigade, Collins became a member of Sinn Féin in Newry. The South Armagh IRA wanted a hard-line militarist in the party as they were opposed to the increasing emphasis of the republican leadership on the political over the military wing of the movement.[citation needed] Collins was not, however, selected as a Sinn Féin candidate for local government elections. In part, this was due to his suspicion of the IRA and Sinn Féin leadership, whom he suspected of running down 'the war'. He had a public dispute with Gerry Adams at the funeral of an IRA man, killed in a failed bombing, where Collins was accused of calling Adams a 'Stick' (a derogatory name for Official IRA members, who were considered traitors by Provisional IRA supporters). In Killing Rage, however, Collins denies the claim, instead suggesting that he only accused Adams of taking actions likened to those of a 'Stick'.

Despite his militarist convictions, Collins found the emotional strain of the IRA campaign, along with the pressure from the security forces intolerable. On two occasions, he was arrested under anti-terrorism legislation and held in Castlereagh holding centre for seven days and subjected to 24-hour interrogation. On the second of these occasions, in 1985, the police were enraged by the killing, on the day of Collins' arrest, of nine of their colleagues in an IRA mortar attack in Newry. Towards the end of his time in custody, Collins reportedly "broke" and said that he was prepared to co-operate with the police.

In his book, Collins says that the strain of the interrogation exacerbated doubts that he had already had about the morality and direction the IRA campaign. He argues in his book that the republican leadership had already decided that the "war was over" by the mid-1980s and was already manoeuvring Sinn Féin to participate in what later became the Northern Ireland peace process.
"Supergrass"[edit]

Subsequent to his arrest, Collins became an IRA supergrass, on whose evidence the state could prosecute large numbers of IRA members. Collins was held with other paramilitary informers in the Crumlin Road Prison in Belfast. After an appeal from his wife, however, who remained a republican supporter, Collins retracted his evidence against former colleagues. In return, he was given a guarantee of safety by the IRA provided he de-briefed the organisation on his experience. Collins agreed to this. Collins was then transferred to the republican wing of the Crumlin Road prison.

As a result of losing his status as a protected informer, Collins was then charged with several counts of murder and attempted murder. When tried, however, Collins was acquitted due to a lack of evidence other than his own confessions, which he had since retracted. He then spent three months being interrogated by the IRA and was eventually allowed to relocate to the Republic of Ireland, but was not allowed to travel north of Dundalk.[4]
Post-IRA life[edit]

Collins moved to Dublin and squatted in a deserted flat in the working class Ballymun area of the city. At the time, the area was experiencing an epidemic of heroin addiction and Collins volunteered to help a local priest, Peter McVerry, who ran programmes for local youths to keep them away from drugs.

After several years in Dublin, Collins lived in Edinburgh in Scotland for a period, where he ran a youth centre.

In 1995, Collins eventually moved back to Newry. The IRA order exiling him from Northern Ireland had not been lifted but with an IRA ceasefire in operation, he judged it safe to move back in with his wife and children. Also in 1995, Collins appeared on British television to tell the story of his life in the IRA.

In 1997, he co-authored 'Killing Rage', with journalist Mick McGovern, an exposé of the IRA and the Troubles. He also contributed to the book Bandit Country by Toby Harnden about the South Armagh IRA.

In 1998, Collins gave evidence against leading republican Thomas 'Slab' Murphy in a libel case Murphy had brought against the Sunday Times over a 1985 article naming him as the IRA's Northern Commander.[5] After his testimony, Collins was heard to shout, "No hard feelings Slab". In the immediate aftermath of the trial, Collins' home was attacked and daubed with graffiti calling him a "tout" (slang forinformer). In fact since he had returned to live in Newry his house had frequently been attacked, his family home in Camlough was burned to the ground and daubed in graffiti, threats were made against his children, who were bullied in school, and slander was painted on the walls of the streets in which the family lived.
Death[edit]

Eamon Collins was murdered on 27 January 1999 while walking his dogs near Barcroft Park, his home in Newry. He was stabbed and beaten so badly that police initially thought he had been hit by a car. It is presumed[6] that he was killed by the IRA in revenge for public testimony on the activities of the organisation and in particular for his court testimony against Thomas Murphy.[1][7]

The IRA denied involvement in the killing and Sinn Féin's local representative Brendan Curran denied the IRA was responsible and said that the killing was "senseless and needless".[7] Gerry Adams said that the killing was "regrettable" but added that Mr Collins had "many enemies in many, many, many places".[7]
References[edit]

^ a b c Toolis, Kevin (3 Jul 1999). "Death foretold". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 7 Sep 2010.
^ "The Price Of Courage". Newsweek. Newsweek, Inc. 29 Mar 1999. Retrieved 8 Sep 2010.
^ Collins, Eamon; McGovern, Mick (1999). Killing rage. London: Granta. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-86207-047-9.
^ Ed Moloney (31 January 1999). "Why Collins died". Sunday Tribune. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
^ Stephen Scott (30 January 1999). "Dead man talking". The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/1999/jul/03/weekend7.weekend2
^ a b c "Real IRA denies Collins murder". The Guardian. 29 January 1999. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
External links[edit]
Republic Of Pain
Statement by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. David Andrews, TD on the killing of Eamon Collins Dept. of Foreign Affairs.

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People from County Armagh
Writers from Northern Ireland
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People killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army
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David Cameron Blocks Report that Exposes Tony Blair's Iraq War Crimes

David Cameron is blocking publication of the Iraq Inquiry report because it confirms a secret conspiracy by Bush and Blair to take the US and Britain into an illegal war .

By Lindsey GermanNovember 14, 2013 "Information Clearing House -  While David Cameron was laying wreaths of poppies at the Cenotaph this weekend, to remember the past war dead, he has been blocking an inquiry set up to tell the truth about the war in Iraq.

That is the meaning of the refusal of the Cabinet secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood, to release records of conversations between then prime minister and US president George Bush, in the run up to the war on Iraq.

These records have been demanded repeatedly by the Chilcot inquiry, set up when Gordon Brown was prime minister, back in 2009. Chilcot said then that his inquiry would take a year and a half, or maybe a bit longer. That would have seen it report over two years ago. But now its publication date has been pushed back into 2014 at least.

While many people were always sceptical that Chilcot's team, handpicked from the British establishment, would land a mortal blow on the former prime minister who now poses as envoy for peace in the Middle East, at the same time no one expected the report to take so long. The hold up will be because the aforementioned Tony Blair wants it to be held up, and he would not be able to do so without the collusion of Cameron.

So whereas the Chilcot Inquiry was set up supposedly to investigate what went wrong in the run up to war in Iraq, the very people responsible for what went wrong are blocking its publication. Tony Blair remains at large urging us on to further wars, most recently in Syria.

In the meantime, records of an estimated 130 conversations between Blair and Bush and then Brown and Bush are being blocked by this top civil servant. In addition there are 25 notes from Blair to Bush and 200 cabinet level discussions also being withheld. This adds up to a lot of conversations, the majority probably damaging to Bush and Blair.

There is a lot at stake here, because Chilcot is trying to get at the precise point at which Blair agreed to go to war alongside Bush over Iraq.

If, as many of us suspect, this deal was made early in 2002, a full year before the invasion actually took place, it would show a conspiracy to go to war which not only ignored its legality or otherwise, but also a wilful series of deceits carried out by Blair and his allies.

The whole charade of government actions in the months before the war would be shown to be just that: the 45 minutes dossier, the distortion of intelligence findings, the demands for a second UN resolution, the blaming of the French for scuppering such a resolution, the pretence of wanting peace if Saddam Hussein would give up his (non existent)weapons of mass destruction.

All these were just so much spin and softening up, trying to get the public and MPs to agree to a war which had already been decided on, and which was clearly about regime change.

Blair's tactic now is to delay as long as possible in the hope that time will soften opinion against him, and that he will be able to continue in a highly political role. Compare Blair's role in international politics to that of any previous modern British prime minister to see how centrally, lucratively, and damagingly, involved he still is. A hostile Chilcot report would make it impossible for him to continue that role, and would open up the long overdue possibility of his facing war crimes proceedings.

As government ministers huff and puff about whistleblowers' revelations about state surveillance, we should remember that they have a lot to hide. All discussions between the main protagonists in taking us to war in Iraq should be made public so we can judge for ourselves who was at fault. There is no justifiable reason for secrecy except to save the faces of those involved, and to allow them to remain rich, powerful and protected.

We owe it to the millions who suffered from the Iraq war and to the millions who demonstrated against it, to ensure that the truth comes out.

Tony Blair kept Cabinet in the dark over Iraq 'deliberately' as ministers evaluated case for war in 2003

Lord Butler suggests former Prime Minister excluded members of the Government from the decision-making process

OLIVER WRIGHT 

 

WHITEHALL EDITOR

 

Wednesday 13 November 2013

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Members of Tony Blair’s Cabinet were “deliberately” excluded from seeing key documents drawn up by officials examining the case for war against Iraq, a former head of the Civil Service has claimed.

Lord Butler, who led the Review of Intelligence on Weapons of Mass Destruction in the aftermath of the invasion, said there was no shortage of “very good” information available to help ministers evaluate the case for war in 2003.

But in remarks to a Foreign Office seminar, Lord Butler suggested that the former Prime Minister had intentionally kept the documents away from the majority of the Cabinet. “A lot of very good official papers were prepared,” he said. “None was ever circulated to the Cabinet, just as the Attorney General’s advice [on the legality of the war] was not circulated to the Cabinet.

“So, the Cabinet was not as well-informed as the three leading protagonists: the Prime Minister, the Defence Secretary and the Foreign Secretary... I think that was deliberate, and it was a weakness of the machinery that underlay that particular decision.”

Lord Butler’s comments, unearthed by Civil Service World magazine, are significant because, while he has previously criticised Mr Blair’s style of “sofa government”, he has not suggested a deliberate intention to exclude wider members of the Government from the decision-making process.

Although Lord Butler was no longer Cabinet Secretary at the time of the Iraq war, he chaired the independent Review of Intelligence on Weapons of Mass Destruction in 2004 and remains in close contact with senior civil servants who were working in Whitehall at the time.

Lord Butler added that his understanding was that Mr Blair used presentations to summarise briefings on Iraq to the wider Cabinet. But he said he did not think these were a satisfactory substitute for access to full documentation. 

“There were a lot of PowerPoint presentations, which is not nearly as good,” he said.

He later added: “One of my greatest criticisms of the Blair government was what I felt was a decline of collective decision-making.”