THE HAGUE, 03/04/07 - The government has never withheld information about the Dutch support for the war in Iraq from the Lower House. Accusations on television programme Reporter are based on an incomplete account of the sources, Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen and Defence Minister Eimert van Middelkoop said in a letter to parliament yesterday.

Reporter said last week that a confidential memorandum from the Dutch ambassador to the United Nations said that the Netherlands would support the war whatever happened. Verhagen and Van Middelkoop however say that possible scenarios were being discussed without a decision having already been made on support. Reporter did not mention these other scenarios, according to the letter.

Reporter also said the cabinet failed to inform the House about a US request for military support. This list with wishes for equipment was not however a formal request, so it was not necessary to report it to the House, writes Verhagen.

Eventually, the Netherlands provided no equipment, but only political support. Verhagen also said that there was no question of Dutch F-16s and special units surreptitiously being involved in the attack on Iraq, as radio programme Argos had suggested.

Socialist Party (SP) leader Jan Marijnissen has for some time been pressing for an investigation of the Dutch involvement with the attack on Iraq. Last weekend, he suggested that this should be carried out by the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation (NIOD).

The Christian democrats (CDA), Labour (PvdA) and ChristenUnie stated in their coalition accord that there would be no investigation of the Iraq war. NIOD has already said it cannot do any investigating without the cooperation of the government. The SP wish therefore appears doomed, but is mainly seen as an effort by this party to put PvdA under pressure. PvdA was always in favour of an investigation when it was still in opposition.