Summary

  • Sir John Chilcot's Iraq War inquiry report is published after seven years

  • Inquiry set up in June 2009 to look into run-up to US-led 2003 invasion of Iraq and its aftermath

Live Reporting

Jo Perry

  1. Salmond: 'Conclusions are excoriating of a prime minister who gave pre-determined commitment to Bush'

    The report's forensic examination of thousands of pages of evidence and its firm conclusions are excoriating of a prime minister who, contrary to his denials, gave a pre-determined commitment to President Bush on 28 July 2002 to join US military action in Iraq. We now know that long before Parliament formally voted on whether or not to go to war in Iraq, Tony Blair had told George Bush - 'I will be with you whatever'.

    Alex Salmond, SNP foreign affairs spkesman

    Alex Salmond
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  2. Read the Chilcot report in full

    From BBC Scotland's Westminster correspondent

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  3. Chilcot headlines at a glance

    "We have concluded that the UK chose to join the invasion of Iraq before the peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted. Military action at that time was not a last resort."

    John ChilcotPA

    "The judgement about the severity of threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction - WMD - were presented with a certainty that was not justified."

    "Despite explicit warnings, the consequences of the invasion were underestimated."

    "The planning and preparations for Iraq after Saddam Hussein were wholly inadequate."

    "The government failed to achieve its stated objectives."

  4. Chilcot: UK's military role in Iraq ended 'very long way from success'

    From BBC Scotland's Westminster correspondent

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    The UK's military role in Iraq "ended a very long way from success" and was an intervention "which went badly wrong, with consequences to this day", Sir John said.

    Mr Blair "overestimated his ability to influence US decisions on Iraq", Sir John concluded. 

  5. Tony Blair received warnings before invasion about internal strife and risk from al-Qaeda

    From BBC Scotland's Westminster correspondent

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    Sir John dismissed Tony Blair's view that post-invasion problems in Iraq could not have been known about in advance.

    He said there were warnings beforehand about the risks of internal strife in Iraq and of al-Qaeda activity.

  6. Chilcot: Policy on Iraq was made on basis of flawed intelligence that went unchallenged

    It is now clear that policy on Iraq was made on the basis of flawed intelligence and assessments. They were not challenged, and they should have been.

    Sir John said that the assessed intelligence had not established beyond doubt that Saddam Hussein continued to produce chemical and biological weapons. Britain's Iraq policy. He added that it was based on flawed intelligence which was not challenged, but should have been.

  7. Sir John Chilcot: 'Severity of threat from WMD presented with certainty that was not justified'

    We have concluded that the UK chose to join the invasion of Iraq before the peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted. Military action at that time was not a last resort. We have also concluded that the judgement about the severity of the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction WMD were presented with a certainty that was not justified.

    John Chilcot

  8. Chilcot: Legal basis for military action in Iraq 'far from satisfactory'

    From BBC Scotland's Westminster correspondent

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  9. Chilcot finds planning and preparations for after invasion were 'wholly inadequate'

    The chairman of the long-awaited British inquiry into the Iraq war, John Chilcot, has said the UK chose to join the invasion before the peaceful options to disarm Iraq had been exhausted.

    He said the planning and preparations for after the invasion were wholly inadequate.

    Judgments about the severity of the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction "were presented with a certainty that was not justified" by Tony Blair's government, Sir John said.

    Chilcot

  10. Sir John Chilcot says British forces committed to invasion before peaceful options were exhausted
    Breaking

    British forces were committed to the invasion of Iraq "before the peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted" and military action was "not a last resort" at the time, Sir John Chilcot said as he set out the long-awaited findings of his inquiry into the conflict.

    John Chilcot

  11. Publication of Chilcot report minutes away

    From BBC Scotland's Westminster correspondent

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  12. In pictures: Demonstrators await publication of Chilcot report

    A protester cycles past the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London, where the publication of the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq War is taking placePA

    A protester cycles past the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London, where the publication of the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq War is taking place

    A demonstrator wearing a t-shirt detailing the number of dead in Iraq stands outside the London home of Tony BlairGetty Images

    A demonstrator wearing a t-shirt detailing the number of dead in Iraq stands outside the London home of Tony Blair

    A banner is displayed by people opposed to the invasion of Iraq outside the home of Tony BlairPA

    A banner is displayed by people opposed to the invasion of Iraq outside the home of Tony Blair

    A demonstrator wears a Tony Blair mask and covers his hands in fake bloodReuters

    A demonstrator wears a Tony Blair mask and covers his hands in fake blood

  13. Tony Blair's lord chancellor says invasion cannot be blamed for widespread sectarianism

    Charles Falconer, who served as lord chancellor during the war from 2003-2007, said the decision to invade Iraq could not be blamed for the widespread sectarian violence that was now present in many parts of the Middle East: 

    Lord Falconer

    Syria, no intervention; Libya, partial intervention; Yemen, no intervention; Iraq, a total invasion. All of these places are absolutely in turmoil with the most horrible suffering for their populations. To say that the invasion of Iraq is the cause of that is not right. To what extent did it contribute to it? I think that's very very difficult to say.

    Lord Falconer, Former lord chancellor

  14. Rose Gentle: 'Iraq is actually worse than before we even went in'

    Rose Gentle's son was killed just three weeks after arriving in Iraq in 2004; she holds Tony Blair responsible:

    Tony BlairPA

    I'm just disgusted at him because if you look at Iraq just now, Iraq's actually worse than what it was before we even went in. And I don't think he has any remorse at all for anybody, I think he just had his heart set and his mind made up with George Bush to go in, doesn't matter what anybody was thinking or saying.

    Rose Gentle, mother of dead soldier

  15. Colonel Tim Collins: 'We shattered Iraqi society'

    Led the Royal Irish Battle Group into Iraq

    When we arrived, we disbanded the Iraqi military. In doing so, we shattered Iraqi society, created an insurgency of such efficiency that it rages on -- even as we sit here 13 years later. But that sheer incompetence has cost us those Iraqi lives, has cost those British lives and the responsibility must lie firmly with the people who made the decision.

  16. Nicola Sturgeon: 'We should remember soldiers and Iraqi civilians'

    Scotland's first minister

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  17. Mother of dead soldier '100%' certain report will be a whitewash

    Diane Douglas, the mother of Lance Corporal Allan Douglas, from Aberdeen, who was shot while on a routine patrol in 2006, said she was not optimistic about getting answers from the report.

    Allan DouglasMOD

    She told BBC Scotland: "I'd like to see Blair and [US President George W] Bush accused of putting us in to an illegal war. And for Blair to actually apologise for our families being destroyed.

    "One hundred and seventy nine families have been destroyed because they went to Iraq. And to this day, Iraq is actually worse than it was 10 years ago."

  18. Angus Robertson: 'Who was responsible and how do they face their responsibility'?

    The SNP MP, who has been a vocal critic of the invasion, said the war was pursued on the basis of a "lie".

    Angus Robertson

    The Iraq war was a total and unmitigated disaster and nearly 200,000 people have lost their lives and we have to understand how it was possible to go to war on the basis of a lie and then ask ourselves who was responsible and how do they face their responsibility.

    Angus Robertson, SNP MP

  19. Rose Gentle hopes Chilcot report will reveal 'truth' about why Britain took part in invasion

    From BBC Scotland's Westminster correspondent

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  20. WATCH: Alex Salmon says key issue is whether Tony Blair 'pre-committed' to Iraq war

    The SNP's foreign affairs spokesman said of all the questions thrown up by the invasion, the central one was the former prime minister's commitment to the war.

    Alex Salmond