The father of a Welsh soldier killed in the Iraq war has accused Sir John Chilcot of “borderline criminal negligence” following news his report on the conflict would not be published until seven years after the inquiry started.
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Chilcot said he estimated the text of the report would be complete “in the week commencing April 2016” but added that the process of reviewing the document to ensure British national security is not breached by its contents would take “some weeks”, particularly considering the report contains more than 2 million words.
Such checking is “normal and necessary” with inquiries handling large amounts of sensitive material, he said.
He raised doubts that it would take two or three months to check the final report for security issues, pointing out that security checks on the Saville inquiry into Bloody Sunday took only a fortnight.
“We will complete that work as swiftly as possible”, the letter said.
“I consider that once national security checking has been completed it should be possible to agree a date for publication in June or July 2016”, he added.
“I recognise that you have a significant task, but would welcome any further steps you can take to expediate the final stages of the inquiry”, he said in the letter, which was released by his office.
The inquiry aims to shed light on every aspect of Britain’s involvement with Iraq from 2001 to 2009, from the build-up to the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 to the withdrawal of combat troops, and to identify lessons that can be learned.
Rose Gentle, whose Royal Highland Fusilier son Gordon, 19, was killed in a bomb attack in Basra in 2004, said she was “disappointed” by the news.
The report has been significantly delayed by the process of “Maxwellisation” whereby those criticised in the report are given a right to respond.
Families of military personnel killed in Iraq have threatened to go to court, saying the delays are prolonging their grief as they search for answers about how Britain ended up in the conflict.
And he refused to apologise for the war as a whole.
Sir John has come under fire for delays in producing his report.
“I find it hard to apologise for removing Saddam”, Mr Blair said.
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“Secondly, Tony Blair received the deliberations of the inquiry under the Maxwell process in full only in January 2015, four years after the inquiry finished taking evidence”. Mr Blair appeared before the inquiry twice.
