The Oil-for-food Inquiry Commissioner Terence Cole has ruled there is no need for him to take any action against the Prime Minister John Howard in respect of comments made by him at a press conference after he gave evidence to the Inquiry:
16. I have read a transcript of the entirety of the Prime Minister's press conference. Such a reading makes it apparent the Prime Minister had no intention of seeking to influence findings of this Inquiry, nor can they properly be construed as attempting to do so when properly understood in the context in which they were made. Many of the statements made were outside my Terms of Reference and did not relate to any matters in respect of which I am required to make findings.
17. The remarks made by the Prime Minister, to which I have been referred, are properly to be understood as being part of the political debate, which has now been ongoing since October 2005. They are not to be interpreted as seeking to influence me in any way in relation to any findings I might make. The remarks to which I have been referred have not, and will not, influence any findings I might make. As a former judicial officer I am accustomed to confining myself to a consideration of the material properly before me, and disregarding irrelevant
matter.
18. I reject the suggestion in Mr Forrest's "remarks" impugning the integrity or independence of this Inquiry. I decline to take any action in relation to the statements of the Prime Minister to which I have been referred.
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