Chilcot Report: Iraq families want Tony Blair to face justice

Soldiers of The Royal Highland Fusiliers carry the coffin of Fusilier Gordon Gentle, 19, during his funeral at St James' Parish Church on July 7, in Pollok, Glasgow. Picture: Getty Images

It is now seven years since the inquiry under Sir John Chilcot got underway and families will today learn of its findings when it is published. It was hit by delays, notably wrangling over the de-classification of communications between Blair and former US President George W Bush.

Former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, now the SNP’s foreign affairs spokesman at Westminster, said that Mr Blair must be “held to account” if the inquiry findings implicate the former Labour leader.

It is now thirteen years after British troops crossed into Iraq which cost the lives of 179 British soldiers and left hundreds more injured, while up to 170,000 Iraqis were killed.

General Sir Michael Rose, who commanded British troops in Bosnia in the 1990s and has been advising the families of some of the British dead and injured, said they were preparing to launch a civil action against Mr Blair.

“He has a personal responsibility as leader of this country to properly assess the intelligence and information that he is using to justify going to war,” he said yesterday.

“The consequences of that war have been utterly catastrophic. The families want to see justice and if it proves as a result of reading the report that there was dereliction of duty, malfeasance in public office, intelligence was negligently handled, then they will take action.”

Among the most controversial issues was the UK Government’s case for war and the claim that Iraq leader Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction which could reach the UK in 45 minites. None were ever found.

Sir John had originally hoped it would be ready within two years of starting work in 2009 before delays struck.

The former Whitehall mandarin has said from the outset he would not rule on whether the invasion in 2003 was legal in terms of international law, pledging to provide a “full and insightful” account of the decision-making process.

But Mr Salmond said: “I want to reassure the families of those who died, and everyone living with the consequences of this conflict, that there is renewed cross-party determination to ensure Mr Blair and all those responsible for the lies and failures are held to account.”

The conflict had destabilised the region, where Islamic State has since emerged, and left the world a more dangerous place, Mr Salmond added.