PRIME MINISTER AND NATIONAL SECURITY

Early day motion 1017, tabled 1 March 2007 by Dai Davies (Independent). Signed by 20 members.

That this House recalls that, when summing up the debate on Iraq on 18th March 2003, the vote which gave parliamentary authority to the Government to invade Iraq, the Prime Minister asserted that `This is the time not just for this Government, or indeed for this Prime Minister, but for the House to give a lead: to show that we will stand up for what we know to be right' (Official Report, 18th March 2003: column 774); further recalls that, earlier in the same debate, the Prime Minister had told this House that `We are asked now seriously to accept that in the last few days, contrary to all history, contrary to all intelligence, Saddam decided unilaterally to destroy those weapons [of mass destruction]. I say that such a claim is palpably absurd'; believes that the Prime Minister's certainty and views have been demonstrated to be in error; notes that, when the Prime Minister presented the White Paper on the arguments for replacing British nuclear weapons of mass destruction to this House on 4th December 2006, the Prime Minister argued that ultimately this decision was a judgment about possible risks to the United Kingdom and its security, and the place of nuclear weapons in thwarting the risks (column 21); further believes that, as in the earlier circumstances, the Prime Minister's judgment is fatally flawed; and calls upon the Government to postpone any decision to replace Trident, and to devote its attention to genuine multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations.

Signatures by party: Labour 11, Liberal Democrat 6, Independent 1, Respect 1, Scottish National Party 1.