Chilcot report delays 'let down' Iraq soldiers' families

Lord Morris said respect for good governance is undermined by delays on such important matters

Families of the 179 soldiers killed in the Iraq War have been badly let down by the delay in the Chilcot inquiry report, a Welsh peer says.

Former Labour attorney general Lord Morris of Aberavon said reports should be published before issues become "dimmed in public memory".

He said the Franks Falklands conflict inquiry took around six months.

Sources suggest Sir John Chilcot might write to David Cameron with a timetable for his report before 3 November.

During a House of Lords debate on the Chilcot inquiry on Thursday, Lord Morris said "justice delayed is justice denied", and warned Sir John's decision to produce a timetable did not mean he would simultaneously produce a date for publication.

Former cabinet secretary Lord Butler, who chaired the inquiry into the intelligence behind the Iraq conflict, said of the Chilcot inquiry: "Judge it by its outcome, and be patient until that outcome is delivered."

Earlier, the father of a Gwynedd soldier killed in Iraq said he is "extremely frustrated by the continued delay" of the 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.

Sir John Chilcot began his work in 2009