Summary

  • UK went to war before peaceful options exhausted and military action was "not last resort", Chilcot report says

  • Invasion in 2003 was based on “flawed intelligence and assessments” that went unchallenged

  • Threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction were "presented with certainty that was not justified"

  • Former PM Tony Blair says decision for action made "in good faith" and he takes "full responsibility for any mistakes"

  • Families of Britons killed during Iraq War say conflict was "a fiasco" and do not rule out legal action

  • PM David Cameron says "lessons must be learned" and announces two-day Commons debate next week

  • Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn says war was "act of military aggression launched on a false pretence"

Live Reporting

Mario Cacciottolo, Emma Atkinson, Alex Kleiderman and Lauren Turner

  1. Chilcot report 'not a whitewash'

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  2. Alex Salmond: 'Parliamentary action could be taken against Blair'

    Alex SalmondGetty Images

    Former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond has said on his LBC radio show that he believes parliamentary action could be taken against Tony Blair. 

    I'm open minded about what it should be. There have been talks between MPs across the parties. We wanted to see the report first, we'll be meeting over the next few days.

    It's going to take people time to assimilate all the information in the report but I favour such action. I favour a means of parliamentary accountability because I don't believe that these things can just be sorted out by saying we will improve the intelligence gathering, we'll restore cabinet government, we'll have a sequence of decision making.

    At the end of the day these were decisions made by a human being and that prime minister was Tony Blair.

  3. Armed forces fatalities in Iraq remembered

    There were 179 servicemen and women killed during the campaign that followed the invasion of Iraq on 20 March 2003.  

    Here are the names and details of all the fatalities. 

    Poppies of remembrance for soldiers killed in Iraq

  5. Chilcot report: Top story on German websites

    BBC Monitoring

    The Chilcot report is the top story on the websites of the heavyweight newspapers in Germany, with Die Welt and others leading on the conclusion that the decision to go to war was "premature".

    The popular tabloid Bild highlights the conclusion that Tony Blair "exaggerated the danger" posed by Iraq. 

    Public television channel Das Erste has its own correspondent's report from London, also leading on the "premature" angle and devoting a section to "exaggerated claims about WMD".

    The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily says the report's verdict is "devastating" on a decision to go to war that was "poorly planned, totally inadequate and barely legal".

    Left-wing Tageszeitung condemns the decision to go to war as "hasty, belligerent and haphazard".

  6. Corbyn: 'Those responsible must face up to consequences'

    Mr Corbyn says he has apologised to the families of the servicemen and women killed for the actions of his party. 

    He also says that those responsible for the war must face up to the consequences.   

    In his statement the Labour leader says his party have learned lessons and that he wants a "different" type of foreign policy, where war is the absolute last resort.

    The decision to go to war has been a "stain" on his party and the country, Mr Corbyn adds.

  7. Parliament 'was misled' - Corbyn

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  8. Corbyn: War 'fuelled terrorism'

    Jeremy Corbyn

    Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn says that the Iraq War fuelled terrorism around the world. 

    He stresses that opponents of the war were not apologists for Saddam Hussein, and says that he wishes the majority of MPs had listened to the wisdom of those who protested. 

  9. Jeremy Corbyn: Iraq War was 'catastrophe'

    Jeremy Corbyn is now making a statement. 

    He says the Iraq War was "by any measure, a catastrophe". 

    The decision to invade Iraq in 2003 based on what the Chilcot report called "flawed intelligence" had a "far-reaching impact on us all" and led to a "fundamental breakdown" in trust in politics, the Labour leader says. 

  10. What Blair said to Bush in memos

    George W Bush and Tony Blair in 2001AP

    Memos sent between former UK PM Tony Blair and then US President George W Bush in the run-up to the Iraq War shine a light on the relationship between the two leaders.

    What Blair said to Bush in memos

    Memos sent between former UK PM Tony Blair and then US President George W Bush in the run-up to the Iraq War shine a light on the relationship between the two leaders.

    Read More

  11. 'Unfair' reputation

  12. Liberty: 'Findings are comprehensively damning'

    Martha Spurrier, director of rights group Liberty, said that "the impartial findings of the Chilcot inquiry panel are comprehensively damning - of the then prime minister and his cabinet colleagues and our intelligence agencies."

    She adds:

    Basic adherence to the rule of law, evidence-based policy making and the protection of human rights came second to egos, ideology and political grandstanding. The resulting failure to plan for the aftermath of war led to the deaths of more than a million people and grave human rights violations on a massive scale that continue to the present day.

    She said the Chilcot report "must mark a turning point - an end to UK government ministers' systematic and cynical demotion of human rights". 

  13. Image from The Rock 'used for MI6 intelligence'

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    There's more on this in Gordon Corera's piece on the quality of the intelligence given to the government ahead of the invasion of Iraq. 

  14. Chilcot report 'damning' for Blair - Sturgeon

    Nicola SturgeonReuters

    First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon has branded the Iraq Inquiry report by Sir John Chilcot as "damning" of former Prime Minister Tony Blair. 

    Speaking to the BBC she said: 

    This report is damning. It's damning of Tony Blair and the decision making process that led to war in Iraq.

    She went on to argue that questions remain now on how there will be accountability for what happened. 

    What I think is absolutely clear at this stage is there has to be some sense of accountability… given the consequences of the Iraq War are still being felt by Iraq and the Middle East.' I listened to Sir John Chilcot this morning and struggled to think how Tony Blair could come to the conclusions he's come to today.

    I can't get into Tony Blair's head... whether he knowingly misled parliament... what is clear... Parliament did not have all the information at its disposal that it should've had in reaching such a massive decision."

  15. Watch: Bereaved sister says Blair 'is a terrorist'

    Sarah O’Connor: "Tony Blair is a terrorist"

  16. Chilcot makes headlines in France

    BBC Monitoring

    Major French news channels and press websites are focusing on Sir John Chilcot's conclusion that the UK decided to invade Iraq prematurely.

    French Europe 1 radio describes the Chilcot report as "explosive".

    Centre-left Le Monde notes that "as expected, Sir John was harsh in his judgment of Tony Blair" in an article headlined: "Official report describes a disastrous record of the British intervention in Iraq".

    Conservative Le Figaro and left-wing Liberation both lead on the former prime minister's insistence that he had acted "in good faith" in response to the report.

    L'Express magazine says Chilcot "accuses Blair" of sending in troops without exploring all peaceful options.

  17. Sir Menzies Campbell: Blair judgement poor

    Former Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell says the Chilcot report shows Mr Blair's judgement was poor.

    "It was misconceived and it led to a vacuum in Iraq which has been filled by a civil war where 179 British soldiers died," he told the BBC.

    But interviewed alongside him, Labour MP David Hansen said it was important to recognise that the inquiry found Mr Blair had been "acting in good faith on what appears now to be bad information and bad intelligence".

    Sir Menzies Campbell

  18. In pictures: Chilcot report released

    Families of some of the soldiers who died watch a news conference after Sir John Chilcot released his reportReuters

    Families and friends of some of the soldiers who died watch a news conference after Sir John Chilcot released his report

    The families of those who died in Iraq take part in a press conferenceReuters

    The press conference, held by the families of military personnel who died in the war, was emotional at times

    The Chilcot reportAP

    The report itself is 2.6 million words long

    Protesters outside the Queen Elizabeth II conference centreEPA

    A demonstration took place outside the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre in London while Sir John Chilcot outlined his report

    A composite image of the 179 UK troops that died during the conflict in IraqPA

    An image showing the 179 UK military personnel who died during the conflict in Iraq

  19. Blair is a 'consummate actor'

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  20. 'Iraq and Middle East will stabilise' - Blair

    During his press conference, Tony Blair said the decision to invade Iraq ultimately contributed to the struggle for political change across the Middle East:

    Let's be clear about this decision. It cut with the grain of what's happening across the Middle East. And I believe by the way that Iraq will stabilise and the Middle East will stabilise. Because my analysis of what's going on in the Middle East is that it is one big struggle - to get rid of sectarian religious politics, and replace it with pluralistic, tolerant, religiously tolerant politics.

    And it's about the desire for rule-based economies and not corrupt economies. Now I think those are two things people are struggling for all over the Middle East. Iraq under Saddam had no chance."