The Independent reports that ministers, including deputy leadership contenders, are urging Gordon Brown to launch an inquiry into the Iraq war. I've said before that I don't think we need another establishment inquiry to conclude that everyone did their best in good faith in a difficult situation, particularly given the ineptitude of the previous ones, to which the government lied without compunction.

Now, I think it may be the only way to get to the bottom of how we got into the war. As William Hague is saying, the inquiry has to look at the origins of the war as well as the shambles of the aftermath. I think it will be difficult for any inquiry to ignore the leaked Downing Street documents or questions about who really wrote the dossier.