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AP account of Downing Street question differs from that of White House, Washington Post
by Open-Publishing - Wednesday 8 June 2005Media-Network Wars and conflicts International USA UK
The Associated Press appears to have errantly revised a question asked by a Reuters reporter about the Downing Street minutes, RAW STORY has discovered.
The AP transcript says the reporter asked a question which included the phrase, "intelligence and facts remain fixed" around the policy of removing Saddam Hussein, whereas the official White House transcript and account by the Washington Post asserted the reporter said "intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy of removing Saddam through military action."
According to AP, the transcript was taken by CQ transcripts.
The difference, while semantic, seems to have entirely changed the question the reporter asked. Neither the Associated Press or reporter Steve Holland were immediately available for comment.
The AP copy distributed to the papers was:
Q: Thank you, sir. On Iraq, the so-called "Downing Street Memo" from July 2002, says, "Intelligence and facts remain fixed around the policy of removing Saddam through military actions." Is this an accurate reflection of what happened? Could both of you respond?
BLAIR: Well, I can respond to that very easily. No, the facts were not being fixed in any shape or form at all. And let me remind you that that memorandum was written before we then went to the United Nations.
The official White House / Washington Post account stated:
Q Thank you, sir. On Iraq, the so-called Downing Street memo from July 2002 says intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy of removing Saddam through military action. Is this an accurate reflection of what happened? Could both of you respond?
PRIME MINISTER BLAIR: Well, I can respond to that very easily. No, the facts were not being fixed in any shape or form at all. And let me remind you that that memorandum was written before we then went to the United Nations.
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You can read the Downing Street minutes here.