Gordon Brown’s decision to relent partially on holding an open inquiry into the Iraq war is welcome but by no means enough. One would have thought that the penny had dropped after the clear message sent by British citizens over the (continuing) attempt to cover up the extent of parliamentary expenses fiddling. The public is not willing to be pickpocketed of its legitimate right to know how public servants and elected officials carry out their duties.

There could hardly be a more pertinent case for transparent examination than a botched war of choice sold on a false prospectus – as the families of the 179 British services men and women who died in Iraq have pointed out. The idea of a group of hand-picked retired mandarins and historians taking evidence and deliberating behind closed doors before pronouncing on this sorry misadventure is so archaic it borders on the insolent.