Tom Richmond: Brown moves into the firing line over Iraq

Ever since Shipley's Steve Roberts became the first casualty of the Iraq invasion – he had lent his body armour to a comrade – Ministers refused to accept the ramifications of Treasury penny-pinching under one Gordon Brown.

This has now been ruthlessly exposed by the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war and the deeply disturbing evidence of Geoff Hoon, who was the Defence Secretary at the time of the war.

The one benefit of his failed leadership plot against Brown earlier this month is the rare candour that he showed earlier this week – and the extent to which the then Chancellor's cuts to defence spending reduced the number of helicopters available to British forces today.

This decision is costing lives. A shortage of air support is one reason why the UK is suffering so many fatalities in Afghanistan; it does not have the helicopters to fly troops to and from the frontline. Instead, they have to contend with Taliban landmines.

Hoon also told the inquiry that he delayed ordering body armour for Iraq-bound troops on the say-so of Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister, who is due to give evidence next week.

Blair's version of events will be compelling, although whether he actually answers any questions – or shows some frankness – remains to be seen. Whatever, the inquiry is unlikely to alter the now widely-held view that he was a warmonger who simply said "Yes, Mr President" when George W Bush barked. No longer in office, any criticism will be immaterial to his reputation.

What will make a difference, however, is Blair's testimony – and how this impacts on Brown who, correctly, will now submit himself to the Chilcot inquiry before the General Election.

Repeatedly, Brown distanced himself from Iraq. Yet to what extent was he involved in the planning of the invasion, and its execution? What was his position on the funding of the mission? Did he withhold money from the Armed Forces?

Blair and Brown are going to have to answer these points, and others. And, if the former inadvertently drops the latter in it – perhaps as an act of revenge for years of serial disloyalty – then Brown will face a very rough ride indeed. For this, we must thank Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, for his persistence in calling for Brown to be questioned before polling day.

The Lib Dems were consistently opposed to the war and Chilcot's consequences could benefit them at the election. And Clegg is right. For, as the Sheffield Hallam MP said so forcefully the other day, the British people have every right to hear the testimony of the man who signed the cheques for this disastrous war, and who is, ostensibly, the political head of our military. The most disturbing aspect is that this right was going to be denied to voters until yesterday's U-turn.

JOHN Hirst, the 200,000 a year chief executive of the Met Office, has defended his salary by claiming that his pay reflects the success of his organisation.

Trying telling that to all those people across Yorkshire, and further afield, who were caught up by the Met Office's inaccurate forecasts during this month's snow storm – and the deliberate vagueness of bulletins throughout this week. As the Met Office is an offshoot of the Ministry of Defence, it is a public body.

Perhaps one way of getting the organisation to concentrate its mind is to halve the salaries of Hirst and his cohorts – and offer them the prospect of bonuses in return for accurate forecasts.

AS the MPs' expenses scandal lingers on, they should heed the words of Vince Cable on why politicians are held in such low-esteem.

"MPs are partly responsible for the fact that they are misunderstood," laments the York-born Lib Dem economics spokesman who was untainted by the expenses furore. "They rarely take the trouble to explain what they do; they claim credit for what others do; they blame others for things they are responsible for and compound the confusion by apologising for things they are not responsible for." A fairly succinct summary. Do you agree?

IT looks like Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw is already preparing for opposition, assuming, of course, that he retains his marginal-looking Exeter seat. Asked if he will take steps to maintain the financial independence of the BBC (his former employers), the Cabinet minister offered an impressive critique of Conservative policy while revealing little about Labour's approach.

IN contrast, question of the week winner is Denis MacShane, the former Europe Minister, who asked Olympics Ministers Tessa Jowell to explain "how Rotherham workers can find jobs in construction and other related work that is going on, because there is a tremendous sense in South Yorkshire that they are not getting a fair crack of the whip?" Thinking aloud, he was articulating what many in Yorkshire fear about the 2012 Olympics. Jowell's response was to offer to visit the region. That maybe so. But I'm more concerned in the detail of her response rather than false platitudes.

HIS constituency may be on the "wrong" side of the Pennines – but Labour backbencher Derek Twigg was the only MP this week to speak up for rugby league and the need for the prestigious Challenge Cup to remain on terrestrial television to help inspire youngsters to take up the sport. Hear, hear.