Anger over 'secret Iraq inquiry'

Opposition parties and campaigners have condemned Gordon Brown's decision to hold an independent inquiry into the Iraq war behind closed doors.

Tory leader David Cameron accused Mr Brown of "an establishment stitch-up", while the Lib Dems threatened to boycott the "secret" inquiry.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband said all but the most sensitive evidence would be published in the final report.

And opposition parties had agreed to the composition of the inquiry team.

He said the government was "determined to match" the Franks inquiry into the Falklands war, which he said had set the "gold standard" in terms of thoroughness and access to papers.

'Lies and deceit'

But he also insisted that the inquiry would not find evidence of "dishonesty" in the use of intelligence in the run up to the Iraq war, adding that, in his view, the Butler report had found none.

"If you are looking for a great conspiracy you are not going to find it," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

But he said the inquiry would answer critics who have said the government has been unwilling to hold a "comprehensive" inquiry into the Iraq war and its aftermath.

"Now that British troops are home, it is right that we have a genuinely comprehensive inquiry and I also think it's worth pointing out that the prime minister's made clear that when the report is published, everything except the most sensitive aspects of national security will be published."

John Miller, whose son Simon was killed in Iraq in 2003, said private hearings would be marred by "lies and deceit".

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