Chilcot report: Relatives to boycott 'whitewash' Iraq War inquiry

Investigation: the International Criminal Court has indicated that Tony Blair will not be liable for prosecution
PA
John Dunne @jhdunne4 July 2016

The long-awaited Chilcot inquiry report into the Iraq war will be boycotted by relatives of some of the 179 Britons killed in the conflict, who fear it will be a “whitewash”.

The two million-word report, six years in the making, will be unveiled by Sir John Chilcot on Wednesday.

Tony Blair, prime minister when Britain went to war, has said he will not make any comment until the report is made public.

The International Criminal Court has indicated that the former Labour leader will not be liable for prosecution, reiterating its conclusion 10 years ago that the decision to go to war is not within its jurisdiction.

The court said it will look at the report’s findings before deciding whether there is a “reasonable basis” to begin an investigation.

Several MPs are expected to try to use an ancient law to try to impeach the former prime minister once the findings are published.

But some of those whose loved ones died in the war between 2003 and 2009 fear the report will not give them the answers they desperately want.

Gary Nicholson, 42, was one of 10 servicemen who died when their Hercules C-130 aircraft was shot down in 2005.

His mother Julia said: “I’m absolutely disgusted. I’m not going because it will be a whitewash. Tony Blair has got blood on his hands. He will have covered his back and [former American president George] Bush’s back.”

Janice Procter, whose son Michael Trench, 18, was one of the youngest British soldiers to die in Iraq when killed in 2007, said: “It’s been horrendous, I’m very apprehensive about this.

“It [the report] is not going to give me any closure or comfort.”

She added: “I’m not going down on the day, I’m not going to waste two hours of my life reading it.”

The Chilcot inquiry was set up in 2009 by then-prime minister Gordon Brown after the withdrawal of the main body of British troops earlier that year. The inquiry examined the lead-up to the 2003 invasion and the years up to the 2009 withdrawal.

The report’s publication follows 130 sessions of oral evidence and the testimony of more than 150 witnesses. The inquiry has analysed more than 150,000 government documents.

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