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Chilcot report live: Blair sent troops to Iraq before peaceful options had been exhausted Chilcot report live: Blair claims report clears him of 'bad faith' but inquiry says he exaggerated case for war
(35 minutes later)
11.44am BST 12.24pm BST
11:44 12:24
Heather Stewart Here is the Lib Dem leader Tim Farron on the Chilcot report.
Here is a snippet of our main political story about the report: Blair was fixated in joining Bush in going to war in Iraq regardless of the evidence, the legality or the serious potential consequences.
Tony Blair deliberately exaggerated the threat posed by the Iraqi regime as he sought to make the case for military action to MPs and the public in the buildup to the invasion in 2002 and 2003, the Chilcot inquiry has found. Daesh has arisen from the complete absence of any post conflict planning by the government.
In his forensic account of the way Blair and his ministers built the case for military action, Chilcot finds the then Labour prime minister – who had promised US president George W Bush, “I will be with you, whatever”– disregarded warnings about the potential consequences of military action and relied too heavily on his own beliefs, rather than the more nuanced judgements of the intelligence services. Charles Kennedy’s judgement has been vindicated in every respect. I hope those in the Labour and Conservative parties who were so forceful in their criticism of him and the Liberal Democrats at the time are equally forceful in their acknowledgements today that he was right. An absence of scrutiny by the Conservative party opened the door for Blair and the Labour government to pursue a counter-strategic, ill-resourced campaign.
In particular, Chilcot identifies two separate, key occasions in the buildup to the conflict, against the background of mass protests on the streets of London by the Stop the War coalition, when Blair appears to have overplayed the threat from Iraq and underplayed the risks of invasion. 12.24pm BST
In the House of Commons on 24 September 2002, Mr Blair presented Iraq’s past, current and future capabilities as evidence of the severity of the potential threat from Iraq’s WMD [weapons of mass destruction]. He said that, at some point in the future, that threat would become a reality,” Chilcot says. 12:24
But Chilcot argues instead: “The judgments about Iraq’s capabilities in that statement, and in the dossier published the same day, were presented with a certainty that was not justified.” Owen Bowcott
Read the full story here: Some legal thoughts on the report from my colleague Owen Bowcott:
Related: Tony Blair deliberately exaggerated threat from Iraq, Chilcot inquiry finds Reacting to the Chilcot report, Dr Mark Ellis, executive director of the London-based International Bar Association, said: “The UN Charter prohibits the use or threat of force in international relations, thus guaranteeing the territorial integrity of every country. The only exception to this mandate is through the authorization of the UN Security Council or through the inherent right of self-defence.
11.38am BST “The overwhelming evidence is that neither of these exceptions existed and, consequently, the invasion of Iraq violated international law. Yet, international law has not progressed to a stage where those who breached these legal principles will be brought to justice.
11:38 “To date, the International Criminal Court does not have jurisdiction over ‘acts of aggression’. The only body able to initiate sanctions against states that trigger these acts is the UN Security Council. However, both the United States and Great Britain, as permanent members of the Council, would never consent to such sanctions.”
Luke Harding 12.20pm BST
Here’s part of our main story on the report’s findings. 12:20
Sir John Chilcot has delivered a devastating critique of Tony Blair’s decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003, with his long-awaited report concluding that Britain chose to join the US invasion before “peaceful options for disarmament” had been exhausted. Robert Booth
The head of the Iraq war inquiry said the UK’s decision to attack and occupy a sovereign state for the first time since the second world war was a decision of “utmost gravity”. He described Iraq’s president, Saddam Hussein, as “undoubtedly a brutal dictator” who had repressed his own people and attacked his neighbours. My colleague Robert Booth has been looking in detail at some of the correspondence between Tony Blair and George Bush before the Iraq war within the Chilcot report:
But Chilcot – whom Gordon Brown asked seven years ago to head an inquiry into the conflict - was withering about Blair’s choice to join the US invasion. Chilcot said: “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.” Tony Blair wrote to George Bush eight months before the Iraq invasion to offer his unqualified backing for war, claiming that the removal of Saddam Hussein would “free up the region” even if ordinary Iraqis may “feel ambivalent about being invaded” and could fight back.
The report suggests that Blair’s self-belief was a major factor in the decision to go to war. In a section headed Lessons, Chilcot writes: “When the potential for military action arises, the government should not commit to a firm political objective before it is clear it can be achieved. Regular reassessment is essential.” In an six page memo marked secret and personal, the British prime minister told Bush: “I will be with you whatever” and set out a plan to persuade Britain Saddam must be toppled.
Read the rest here: He warned Bush: “In Britain, right now I couldn’t be sure of support from parliament, party, public or even some of the cabinet”, and said that winning political support in Europe would be tougher still.
Related: Chilcot delivers crushing verdict on Blair and the Iraq war But he then set out a recipe for providing evidence against Iraq, according to the memo released as part of the Chilcot inquiry.
11.37am BST “If we recapitulate all the WMD evidence; add his attempt to secure nuclear capability; and, as seems possible, add on al-Qaida link, it will be hugely persuasive over here,” he said. “Plus, of course, the abhorrent nature of the regime”.
11:37 Blair devoted six lines to “post Saddam” planning. He said his toppling “should lead in time to a democratic Iraq governed by the people”, but concluded “just swapping one dictator for another seems inconsistent with our values”.
And here is the full text of Sir John Chilcot’s statement (pdf). In the memo Blair was clear about the difficulties ahead. “The planning on this and the strategy are the toughest yet,” he said. “This is not Kosovo. This is not Afghanistan. It is not even the Gulf War.”
11.37am BST “The military part of this is hazardous,” he said. “Getting rid of Saddam is the right thing to do. He is a potential threat. He could be contained. But containment as we found with Al Qaida, is always risky. His departure would free up the region. And his regime is probably, with the possible exception of North Korea, the most brutal and inhumane in the world.”
11:37
The report is online on the Iraq inquiry’s website here.
11.35am BST
11:35
Chilcot thanks the inquiry staff.
And he pays tribute to Sir Martin Gilbert, one of the five members of the inquiry panel who died before the report was published.
And that’s it.
11.34am BST
11:34
Chilcot says all aspects of any military intervention need to be debated and considered with full rigour. That did not happen in this case, he says.
11.34am BST
11:34
Blair “overestimated his ability” to influence US decisions on Iraq, Chilcot says
Chilcot says there are many lessons in the report.
Chilcot says the UK should be able to disagree with the US.
11.33am BST
11:33
Chilcot says there was no need to go to war in March 2003
Chilcot says the inquiry’s report is unanimous.
Military action may have been necessary at some point. But it was not necessary in March 2003.
11.32am BST
11:32
Chilcot says it was “humiliating” that the UK had to do a deal with insurgent groups in Basra.
11.31am BST
11:31
Chilcot says from 2006 the UK was conducting two enduring campaigns, in Iraq and Afghanistan. But it did not have the resources to do so.
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11:30
Chilcot says the UK was fully implemented in the coalition’s provisional authority’s decisions. But it did not have much influence over them.
He says the scale of the UK effort in post-conflict Iraq “never matched the scale of the challenge”.
11.28am BST
11:28
Chilcot is now talking about the government’s failure to achieve the objectives it set in Iraq.
The armed forces fought a successful campaign. Saddam Hussein fell in less than a month. He says the armed forces deserve great respect.
The invasion and subsequent instablity resulted in the death of at least 150,000 Iraqis, and probably many more. Most of them were civilians. The people of Iraq have suffered greatly.
Chilcot says the coalition made a declaration before the invasion promising a better future for the people of Iraq.
He says the inquiry considered the post-conflict period in great detail.
He only has time to address a few key points now.
UpdatedUpdated
at 11.33am BST at 12.22pm BST
11.25am BST 12.18pm BST
11:25 12:18
Chilcot says the inquiry does not accept Blair’s claim that it was impossible to predict post-invasion problems In PMQs Angus Robertson, the SNP’s leader at Westminster, asked David Cameron about Chilcot. Cameron said he would talking about this fully in his statement at 12.30, but he did say that he thought it was impossible to have absolute certainty about what might happen next before taking a decision like the one Tony Blair took to go to war.
Chilcot is now talking about the planning for after the war. He says the risks to British troops were not properly identified, or flagged up to ministers. Cabinet did not discuss the military options or their implications, he says. David Cameron defends principle of military intervention: 'I don't think we should be naive that there is a perfect set of plans' #Chilcot
He says the government thought the post-conflict administration would be UN-led. But the US did not agree, and so instead the UK decided to get the US to accept UN authorisation of a coalition-led administration. 12.17pm BST
Blair told the inquiry the problems encountered after the invasion could not have been known in advance. 12:17
Updated Some more quotes from the families’ press conference, from Roger Bacon, via the Press Association:
at 11.28am BST Never again must so many mistakes be allowed to sacrifice British lives and lead to the destruction of a country for no positive end. We were proud when our husbands, sons and daughters signed up to serve our country. But we cannot be proud of the way our government has treated them.
11.22am BST We must use this report to make sure that all parts of the Iraq War fiasco are never repeated again. Neither in a theatre of war, nor in the theatre of Whitehall.
11:22 We call on the British government immediately to follow up Sir John’s findings to ensure that the political process by which our country decides to go to war is never again twisted and confused with no liability for such actions.
Chilcot says it is now clear that policy on Iraq was made “on the basis of flawed intelligence and assessments”. 12.15pm BST
They were not challenged – and they should have been. 12:15
He says Blair and Jack Straw said Iraq had vast stocks of WMD. Blair said after the war Saddam Hussein retained the intent to use WMD. But this was not the argument he made before the war. Salmond says Blair should face 'consequences' for Iraq
Updated This is from Alex Salmond, the former Scottish first minister and the SNP’s foreign affairs spokesman, has issued a statement about the Chilcot report. Here is an extract.
at 11.28am BST The publication of the Report of the Iraq Inquiry by Sir John Chilcot today is welcome but long overdue.
11.21am BST 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” ...
11:21 After such carnage, people will ask inevitable questions of was conflict inevitable and worthwhile? The answer from Chilcot is undoubtedly no. And who is responsible? The answer is undoubtedly Tony Blair. There must now be a consideration of what political or legal consequences are appropriate for those responsible.
Chilcot says Blair said the threat of terrorist groups getting hold of WMD was real. But Blair had been warned that an invasion would increase the threat from al-Qaida, and that it would increase the chances of terrorists getting weapons. 12.14pm BST
Chilcot: 12:14
Mr Blair had been warned, however, the military action would increase the threat from al-Qaida to the UK and UK interests. He had also been warned that an invasion might lead to Iraq’s weapons and capabilities being transferred into the hands of terrorists. Nick Hopkins
Updated Another story, about the ill-preparedness of UK forces for the Iraq war:
at 11.41am BST The UK’s military involvement in Iraq ended with the “humiliating” decision to strike deals with enemy militias because British forces were seriously ill-equipped and there was “wholly inadequate” planning and preparation for life after Saddam Hussein, the Chilcot report finds.
In a withering assessment that will confirm the worst fears of the families of personnel who died, the inquiry has found British forces lacked essential equipment such as armoured patrol vehicles and helicopters – and yet nobody at the Ministry of Defence appeared to be taking responsibility for the problems.
The MoD planned the invasion in a rush and was slow to react to the security threats on the ground, particularly the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that killed so many troops, the report says.
But instead of quickly addressing serious equipment shortfalls such as the use of poorly protected Snatch Land Rovers when the conflict began, the MoD allowed delays to develop that “should not have been tolerated”.
Read the full story here:
Related: MoD left UK forces in Iraq ill-equipped amid lack of plan, Chilcot report says
12.12pm BST
12:12
This is from the Russian embassy in the UK.
#Chilcot inquiry: No real WMD in Baghdad, unjust & highly dangerous war. The entire region on the receiving end. pic.twitter.com/UoL09xfqqQ
12.11pm BST
12:11
This is from the Stop the War Coalition.
The Chilcot report is a damning indictment of Tony Blair and those around him in taking us to war in Iraq. It is clear that he used lies and deception to get his way, that the war was unnecessary and illegal and that everything was done to ensure it went ahead.
The victims are the Iraqis, those soldiers who died and were injured, but also the whole political system traduced by this process.
The anti-war movement and the millions who marched were vindicated by this report and we now demand justice.
12.10pm BST
12:10
Families of some of the service personnel killed in Iraq have been holding a highly emotional press conference, with much criticism of Tony Blair’s role. They have found the report to be more damning than they expected. Roger Bacon, whose 34-year-old son, Matthew, was killed in 2005, was asked if the report had been worth the wait:
It still took too long. but from what we have seen today ... it is an extremely thorough piece of work and was, in that sense, worth the wait.
Rose Gentle whose son Gordon killed in war: 'He's done... a lot better than we thought. Everything's we thought he's just come out & said'