Reservists 'were not poorly prepared'

There was a rush to call up reservists for the Iraq war but the soldiers were not poorly prepared for action, military chiefs have said.

Lieutenant General Anthony Palmer, the deputy chief of defence staff, said deploying some reservists in the short time given was a "close run thing".

But he and other reservist commanders told a committee of MPs their troops had received training to make sure they were not in danger through lack of preparation.

The comments came as Conservatives renewed their calls for a full independent inquiry into the war - going further than Lord Hutton's investigation into the death of Dr David Kelly.

'Poorly prepared'?

The Commons defence select committee questioned the senior reservist officers as part of its inquiry into lessons to be learnt from the war.

Conservative MP James Cran read out a letter from a Territorial Army officer who said: "The five days of pre-training I received were little more than a rush through a number of issues."

During that time, said the officer, he had fired only 10 practice rounds from his gun.

"I was concerned that so many young reservists were being deployed so poorly prepared," he added.

'Close run thing'

Lt Gen Palmer said: "I have talked to many reservists and this is not a common thread which runs through their experience.

"We would always like more time," he went on, but he "categorically denied" any lack of training had put reservists in danger or made them a danger to others.

There is a question mark hanging over the basis and reason why we went to war in Iraq Michael Ancram Shadow foreign secretary

Asked about the short time given for reservists to prepare for deployment, he said: "I am happy to concede that a close run thing in some areas is a very fair description."

Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon signalled in November that reservists would be needed if there was a major military operation, although the official call-out did not come until early January.

Brigadier Andrew Farquhar said training for reservists might not have been everything they wanted prior to deployment, but there had been more training once they had been sent to the Middle East.

In total 5,600 reservists were used in action during the Iraq war, the MPs were told.

'Credibility gap'

In the Commons chamber, shadow foreign secretary Michael Ancram said the questions about the war raised by the Hutton inquiry would only be settled by a comprehensive judicial investigation.

"It is damaging to the national interest when there is a major and continuing question mark hanging over the credibility of the prime minister, the defence secretary and of the government as a whole," said Mr Ancram.

"It is damaging to the national interest when there is a serious question mark hanging over the effectiveness and accuracy of our intelligence services.

"It is damaging to the national interest when there is a question mark hanging over the basis and reason why we went to war in Iraq."

Political judgements

But Robin Cook, who resigned from the cabinet on the eve of war, said the Tory calls would not be taken seriously unless they admitted they were wrong to support the Iraq invasion.

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the government should be held to account over Iraq by Parliament, not a judge.

The issue for the United Nations and MPs was the extent to which Iraq had broken UN resolutions and, if so, whether weapons inspectors should have more time, he argued.

"That is essentially a political judgment," he said.

"The idea that we should now find a judge who is willing to second guess the most explicit of political judgments is absurd and only illustrates the turmoil in the heart of the Tory Party."