Kingston University governor Sir Roderic Lyne will be one of the five-member committee charged with providing the latest independent inquiry into the Iraq war.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown caused a major furore last month when he announced the inquiry would be held in private, but a House of Commons vote to change the arrangements was defeated on June 24 by 39 votes.
A separate amendment which welcomed a “wide ranging and independent” inquiry was passed on the same day with a 54 vote majority, after the Government assured MPs the committee would be able to apportion blame for the decision to go to war.
The main objective of the year-long inquiry, however, will be to identify lessons learned from the war in Iraq, rather than consider civil or criminal liability.
Sir Roderic, 61, worked for the diplomatic service for more than 30 years and was private secretary to Prime Minister John Major in the mid 1990s.
As well as sitting on the university’s board of governors, he is a visiting member of Kingston’s faculty of business and law.
Should the inquiry be held in public? Tell us at surreycomet.co.uk
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