Brown’s Iraq inquiry hit by claims of cover-up

BRITISH Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced an independent inquiry into the Iraq war yesterday but faced claims of a cover-up after saying it would take evidence in private.

Six years after Tony Blair controversially backed the US-led invasion, Brown said the “unprecedented” inquiry would cover the eight years from the campaign’s run-up to the pullout of British troops next month.

But he said it would be held in private for “national security” reasons, infuriating many lawmakers and anti-war campaigners outside the House of Commons.