Who is misleading who?

The Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq war is expected to offer its findings after the General Election, which is due before June 3.

When ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair appeared before the panel, there was a TV frenzy and many people watched the proceedings live on the web. In February, the former Secretary for International Development, Clare Short, who resigned over the war, brought applause from the public gallery when she gave evidence confirming the beliefs of many, that the country and the Commons were misled over the legality of the war by Tony Blair and Lord Goldsmith (then Attorney General). She said that when she wanted to raise questions in cabinet she was ‘jeered at to be quiet’. There is a widespread feeling that if the public had known the truth we would never have gone to war — and perhaps that is right.

Kept in the dark

Just how misled are we as a society? The media elite are keen to accuse the Labour government of lying over Iraq but it certainly seems that they themselves fail to give balanced and fair reporting on many issues. For example, it appears the BBC exaggerated the threat of global warming to the oceans in its programme Britain’s really disgusting food: fish. The documentary asserted that in 50 years there would be no fish in the sea. But James Wood from Seafish, an industry body, said: ‘World fish supply has been boringly stable for the last 35 years’. Phone calls to the programme’s producers, who were told that cod stocks in the North Sea have increased by 40% since 2000, were ignored. This fits with the media’s love of sensationalism.