you note trom John Major, putding Matrix Churchill in for the Queen's Award for Export Achievement, itis difficult to contemo ale documentaton more damning than Robin Cook's lraggate revelations.
True, the Labour Party's outrage would be more convincing from a party that had found it in its soul to poose ue senseess Carnage inl the Gull in the first place.
Labour, it seems, objects to the use of British weapons to slaughter British solders, but happily cheers on while they are wielded against fooing Iraqis:
Nevertheless, Malor and his past and present colleagues Margaret hatcher, Geottey Howe, Nicholas Ridley, Douglas Hurd, Willam WalJegrave and Lord Trelgame are collectively bang to richts While Major was Cook has shown, his private office receired a copy of a letter trom the private socretary of the then Trade Secretary, Nicholas Ridley, to Customs and Excise. regarding forthcoming visit to Matrix Churchil The June 1990 letter notes: 1 also fold you that my Secretary of State would shorby be writng to the Prime Minister (then Margaret Thatcher) asking that Ministers should collectively and urgenty discase.* This was written six months which Major insisted before Partement was res srotnping of uhe Major's 'soo no evil, hear no evil fairy story, endlessly recycled across the Tory press, departs from the paths of veracity. If the erstwhile Chancellor of the Exchequer was really unaware of vital correspondonce coming into viously in question As Cook put it himsell: "For a Prime Minister to daim he is innocent by reason of ignorance is not very attractive....] just as John MacGreccr beleves this oovernment is not fundamentally corrupt, I belleve John Major was not fundamentaly ignorant.
A further five documents were released to the cress. A June 1989 telex. marked "secret", from the then Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Home to the Britsh embassy in Tokyo proves that the Foreign O1. tice was fully aware of Matrix Churchill's activities the month before Major took over the department.
A letter trom William Waldegrave, the then Foreign Office Minister, to Lord Trefgamo, datod Apri 1990 and again gues: *1 belleve the Government would be strongly cridcised if wa allowed the export of (Matrix Churchill machine tocks which could be used on the supergun project. We would, with some justfication. be accused of being inconsistont if not iresponsible."
Waldegrave's proposals? "I suggest, however, that we look again at he question in three months' time when the inferest generaled by the supergun may have subsided... Douglas Hurd has soen this letter and agroes.' Greator cynicism is Slicult to concotve A September 1969 Department of Trade and Industry briofing on concodes the "possiblity" that the machine tools "can be used for the production of miltary oquipmont -. in contravention of our policy. ledged "concerns about culstanding exports of machine tools to lrag and conirm/ed that the matter is under active cons odraton dy ministers confidential April 1990 DTI minutes state that the MoD (Ministry of Defence) working group has no security or technology transter objection to the suppy or trese machines loos i0 leg despite explicit awareness of the possibilty of transfer to muniñons estabIshments.
In future, it recommonds, all export scenoes for lraa should be cleared wim the Cabinet Office, who are acting as cordinator in the Iraci gun cor sext".
So far, Cook has released just 36 of the 500 or so pages of material handed over to the defence in the Matrix Churchil case, ,and urealns more tevelabons shortly. Putti g the Tories in a stow - Robin Cook