Chilcot Inquiry: British public 'betrayed' by further delay

Publication of the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq war has been further delayed until after the general election in May, despite growing pressure from MPs to publish the report.

The long-awaited inquiry, chaired by Sir John Chilcot, was set up in 2009 and took public evidence from its last witness in 2011.

Its publication was slowed down by a dispute about whether to publish personal communications between former prime minister Tony Blair and former US president George W Bush. Last year Chilcot said that the "gist" of the messages could be made public.

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The chairman is also believed to be giving those criticised in the report an opportunity to respond, further delaying its publication.

Blair has insisted he is not to blame for the delay and is determined to disprove claims that he lied to parliament about the likelihood of Saddam Hussein possessing weapons of mass destruction.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the report is estimated to be more than one million words long and will contain details of discussions of more than 200 Cabinet meetings.

David Cameron, who has already expressed his personal frustration at the repeated delay, is writing to Chilcot to urge him to publish the report before the election.

In a separate letter to Chilcot, Nick Clegg described the delay as "incomprehensible" and said the public had been waiting long enough.

"If the findings are not published with a sense of immediacy, there is a real danger the public will assume the report is being 'sexed down' by individuals rebutting criticisms put to them by the inquiry, whether that is the case or not," he said.

David Davis, the former shadow home secretary, called for an explanation for the delay. "We need to know why," he told The Guardian. "This is not simply some formality. This is for the whole country to understand why we made a terrible mistake in Iraq. Simply putting it off is not good enough."

The former minister Norman Baker told The Independent that the delay was a "shocking" development. "It is a betrayal of the British public who are entitled to see this report before the election. It is now six years since Sir John started and he finished taking evidence a long time ago. You have to ask: 'What are the reasons for this delay?'"