Downing Street memo

E932065

The Downing Street memo is a leaked 2002 British government document suggesting that intelligence about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction was being shaped to justify the U.S.-led invasion, making it a central piece of evidence in debates over the war’s legitimacy.

All labels observed (4)

Label Occurrences
BBC reporting on Iraq dossier 1
Downing Street memo canonical 1
Downing Street minutes 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (55)

Predicate Object
instanceOf leaked government document
political memorandum
primary historical source
alsoKnownAs Downing Street minutes
linked to: Downing Street memo

Rycroft memo
linked to: Downing Street memo
archivedIn UK National Archives (copy and references)
asserts U.S. had begun "spikes of activity" in bombing Iraq prior to war authorization
U.S. had no patience with the UN route
U.S. military action against Iraq was seen as inevitable
author Matthew Rycroft
authorOccupation British diplomat
authorRole Downing Street foreign policy aide
controversy alleged manipulation of intelligence on Iraqi WMD
alleged pre-determination of the Iraq invasion
countryOfOrigin United Kingdom
createdAt 10 Downing Street
createdFor Prime Minister Tony Blair
linked to: Tony Blair
date 2002-07-23
documentType confidential memo
firstPublicationCountry United Kingdom
firstPublishedBy The Sunday Times
keyQuote "the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy"
language English
leakDate 2005-05-01
leakedTo The Sunday Times
mediaNickname "smoking gun" memo
meetingParticipantsIncluded Admiral Sir Michael Boyce
Alastair Campbell
Geoff Hoon
Jack Straw
Jonathan Powell
Lord Goldsmith
Richard Dearlove
Sir John Scarlett
Sir Richard Wilson
Tony Blair
meetingRecorded 23 July 2002 meeting at 10 Downing Street
relatedEvent 2003 invasion of Iraq
Iraq War
relatedOrganization MI6
UK Cabinet
linked to: British Cabinet

UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office
UK Ministry of Defence
subject Iraq War planning
United Kingdom foreign policy
United States foreign policy
intelligence and policy-making
weapons of mass destruction in Iraq
topic UN Security Council resolutions on Iraq
legality of the Iraq War
regime change in Iraq
usedIn U.S. congressional discussions on Iraq War
UK parliamentary debates on Iraq
public debate on Iraq War legitimacy
year 2002

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Downing Street memo alsoKnownAs Rycroft memo
linked to: Downing Street memo
Downing Street memo alsoKnownAs Downing Street minutes
linked to: Downing Street memo
Hutton Inquiry subjectOf BBC reporting on Iraq dossier
linked to: Downing Street memo