In a clear break from Blair policy, Gordon Brown is setting himself apart, informing the public that the days of manipulating facts for political gain are over. With the brewing BAE-Saudi Arabia arms deal in the spotlight and a follow up arms deal in the bidding process, Brown will have a prime opportunity to prove his disgust for political cover-ups and manipulation right away.
On his first visit to Baghdad, the incoming prime minister said he would learn lessons from the run-up to the 2003 Iraq invasion, when Mr Blair based his case for war on intelligence reports about Saddam Hussein's supposed weapons of mass destruction.The similarities between political rule in the US and UK are worth noting. The interest in moving
Mr Brown said he had already begun discussions with Sir Gus O'Donnell, the Cabinet Secretary, to ensure security and intelligence material was collected "free of the party political process" and was " fully verified" if it was to be made public. "That is learning the lessons from things that happened in the past, and we should make sure that we can do things better in the future," he said.
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