Practising to deceive: Whitehall, arms exports and the Scott inquiry

The British Government commissioned Sir Richard Scott, a Lord Justice of Appeal, to conduct an inquiry on the British exports of arms and related equipment to Iraq in Nov 1992. In Feb 1996, Scott came out with a five-volume report on the British Government's political and administrative conduct toward the said issue. The Scott Inquiry has remained a story on two levels, namely, on the alleged political scandal involving the Margaret Thatcher-John Major Conservative Government and the longer-term interest among political observers of how Scott used his unprecedented investigatory powers.