London, January 22: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s appearance before the Iraq war inquiry will be moved forward to a date prior to that of the elections.
Brown had been due to give evidence after Britain’s general elections, which is widely expected to be held in May, but the BBC reported that Inquiry Chairman John Chilcot will call him to testify ahead of the poll.
The Daily Mirror newspaper, citing senior government sources, said an official announcement would be made on Friday.
Chilcot had ruled the prime minister’s evidence should be delayed in an effort to keep party politics out of the probe.
But political pressure had been mounting on Brown — who was the chancellor of the exchequer at the outbreak of war in 2003 — to give evidence ahead of the election.
Calls intensified this week after the then defense secretary, Geoff Hoon, accused Brown of starving the armed forces of vital funding.
——–Agencies