Saddam posed no immediate threat to Britain

BBC Breakfast with Frost, Sunday 19 October 2003.

The former foreign secretary Robin Cook MP

On BBC Breakfast with Frost, the former foreign secretary Robin Cook MP criticised the Prime Minister's "evangelical belief" in the need for military action in Iraq - saying Tony Blair had argued "too passionately" for the war, and should have paid more attention to its opponents.

"I rather wish he had listened to the many people in Britain who were sceptical of that case," Mr Cook told Sir David Frost.

Repeating his view that Saddam had posed no immediate threat to Britain's national interests, Mr Cook added:

If he [the Prime Minister] had taken that more sceptical approach the public out there would know now that Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction through the weapons inspectors, without the need for war and the 10,000 who were killed in that war.

Mr Cook said there should have been a judicial inquiry into the background to the war, in May - shortly after it ended.

"I think it would have been very useful if we had it then because then we could possibly have spared the tragedy of David Kelly's suicide, and we wouldn't have needed the Hutton Inquiry."

Tory problems?

Sir David also addressed the Conservative Party's current difficulties, with the Shadow Home Secretary, Oliver Letwin.

"We have to do better than we've done in the past few weeks, I don't deny that," Mr Letwin said.

But he said the Tories new policies were getting through to the public.

Referring to recent opinion polls, he said:

We are roughly speaking in the same position as the Labour government.

Now that's not good enough but it's a massive improvement on two years ago, partly because the government has lost the trust of the people, partly because people do now see I think the glimmering of a genuine alternative of a different way of running the public services to make them better.

Cleared of all charges

The programme also included an interview with Ali Dizaei - the senior Metropolitan Police Officer recently cleared of corruption charges. Superintendent Dizaei - who is still suspended from duty - maintains the investigation into his conduct was motivated by racism.

He insisted he wanted to return to work - although he is currently discouraging other black people from joining the police.

"Frankly I would like a line to be drawn under this because I think the collateral damage this case and other cases are causing to the legitimacy of policing in London is huge," he said.

But he nonetheless conceded that the Met had made "huge inroads" against racism in recent years.

To fly Concorde is very rewarding

Farewell to Concorde

Also on the programme, the former Labour minister Tony Benn spoke emotionally about his involvement with Concorde - ahead of the aircraft's retirement later this week.

"It is a brilliant plane. The minds and thought and skill and craft that have gone into that plane - that's something to be proud of," he told Sir David.

They were joined in the studio by the British Airways Chief Concorde Pilot, Mike Bannister who said;

"To fly her is very rewarding, particularly when you see the passengers with smiling faces at the end of the journey," Captain Bannister said.

Newspapers were reviewed by Anne McElvoy and Andrew Neil

But he defended the decision to take the Concorde fleet out of service.

"It will be sad on Friday but I am convinced it's the right decision at the right time for the right reasons and we are making sure she retires with style and grace and dignity."

The newspapers were reviewed by the journalists Anne McElvoy and Andrew Neil.

Interview with Superintendent Ali Dizaei of the Metropolitan Police

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