Gwynedd soldier's father says Chilcot report delay 'farcical'

L/Cpl Keys was among six British military policemen killed in Iraq in 2003

The father of a Gwynedd soldier killed in Iraq said he is "extremely frustrated by the continued delay" of the Chilcot Inquiry report.

L/Cpl Thomas Richard Keys, 20, of Llanuwchllyn, near Bala, died in 2003.

His father, Reg Keys, said the delay had "become almost unlawful" and called for publication, saying soldiers' families need closure.

The former attorney general Lord Morris of Aberavon lead a House of Lords debate on the inquiry on Thursday.

Launched in 2009, then prime minister Gordon Brown said it would take at least a year.

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales, Mr Keys said thousands of families have been affected by the delay, including Iraqi people.

"They also want to know why their country was invaded," he said.

On the fact that those criticised in the draft report have had the opportunity to respond, Mr Keys said: "We're only going to get a watered-down version, because we will not hear those original criticisms of those top, top players.

"We never will know the whole truth. I'm not naive not to believe certain documents have been classified.

"We need this dark cloud of Iraq to move on... It's like having an open wound that is constantly prodded."

Mr Keys acknowledged the complexity of the inquiry, but said he was "prepared to run with what we've got".

"This is not just months overdue, it's years overdue. Information will keep bubbling to the surface for years to come. We cannot wait for other little memos to keep coming up here and there," he added.