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| Chilcot report: Families and MPs react to inquiry findings | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Chilcot report has concluded that the UK went to war in Iraq in 2003 before all peaceful options for disarming leader Saddam Hussein were exhausted, and it was not a "last resort". | The Chilcot report has concluded that the UK went to war in Iraq in 2003 before all peaceful options for disarming leader Saddam Hussein were exhausted, and it was not a "last resort". |
| The families of some of the 179 servicemen and women who died in the Iraq War have been reacting to its findings. | |
| The families | The families |
| Roger Bacon, whose son Maj Matthew Bacon was killed in Iraq in 2005, called on the government to follow up the report "to ensure that the political process by which the country decides to go to war is no longer twisted and confused". | Roger Bacon, whose son Maj Matthew Bacon was killed in Iraq in 2005, called on the government to follow up the report "to ensure that the political process by which the country decides to go to war is no longer twisted and confused". |
| "It has truly been an exhausting and exhaustive process," he said. | "It has truly been an exhausting and exhaustive process," he said. |
| 'The pain stays' | |
| He told BBC Radio 5 live: "I'm really pleased with it - with what I've seen. We haven't had time to drill down but I'm impressed with what he [Sir John Chilcot] has done... | |
| "It's not going to help me or my wife in dealing with the death of my son - the pain stays - but justice should be seen to be done. | |
| "People need to be brought to book in one way or another. But it's not, on a personal basis, going to change anything." | |
| David Godfrey, whose grandson Daniel Coffey died in Iraq, told the BBC: "I have come to the end of a journey and the start of another one, the journey started with the loss of Daniel in Basra, Iraq, in February 2007. | David Godfrey, whose grandson Daniel Coffey died in Iraq, told the BBC: "I have come to the end of a journey and the start of another one, the journey started with the loss of Daniel in Basra, Iraq, in February 2007. |
| "The next stage of my journey started with the launch of the Chilcot inquiry report and it has been a journey of heartache and pain - not just for my family but for every other family you have seen here today." | "The next stage of my journey started with the launch of the Chilcot inquiry report and it has been a journey of heartache and pain - not just for my family but for every other family you have seen here today." |
| "I have to say that I do owe him [Sir John Chilcot] an apology because the report has been well laid out… | "I have to say that I do owe him [Sir John Chilcot] an apology because the report has been well laid out… |
| "But the report hasn't gone far enough." | "But the report hasn't gone far enough." |
| 'All options' | |
| Matthew Jury, one of the solicitors representing the families, said they had waited a long time for today and three hours was not long enough for the families to take in the report. | Matthew Jury, one of the solicitors representing the families, said they had waited a long time for today and three hours was not long enough for the families to take in the report. |
| On whether any legal action would be taken, he said: "All options will be considered." | On whether any legal action would be taken, he said: "All options will be considered." |
| Former Prime Minister Tony Blair | Former Prime Minister Tony Blair |
| Former Prime Minister Tony Blair said his decision to take military action against Saddam Hussain was taken "in good faith and in what I believed to be the best interests of the country". | |
| In a statement, he said: "The report should lay to rest allegations of bad faith, lies or deceit. | In a statement, he said: "The report should lay to rest allegations of bad faith, lies or deceit. |
| "Whether people agree or disagree with my decision to take military action against Saddam Hussein; I took it in good faith and in what I believed to be the best interests of the country... | "Whether people agree or disagree with my decision to take military action against Saddam Hussein; I took it in good faith and in what I believed to be the best interests of the country... |
| "However, the report does make real and material criticisms of preparation, planning, process and of the relationship with the United States. | |
| "These are serious criticisms and they require serious answers. I will respond in detail to them later this afternoon. | "These are serious criticisms and they require serious answers. I will respond in detail to them later this afternoon. |
| "I will take full responsibility for any mistakes without exception or excuse." | "I will take full responsibility for any mistakes without exception or excuse." |
| He said: "Above all I will pay tribute to our Armed Forces. I will express my profound regret at the loss of life and the grief it has caused the families, and I will set out the lessons I believe future leaders can learn from my experience." | He said: "Above all I will pay tribute to our Armed Forces. I will express my profound regret at the loss of life and the grief it has caused the families, and I will set out the lessons I believe future leaders can learn from my experience." |
| Prime Minister David Cameron | |
| Prime Minister David Cameron told MPs this was a "difficult day for all the families of those who lost loved ones" and he said Parliament would hold a full two-day debate on the Chilcot report next week. | |
| He said he hoped relatives who lost loved ones in Iraq could find "some comfort from knowing we will never forget the incredible sacrifice". | |
| Mr Cameron argued that the report would have been ready sooner if an inquiry had begun when MPs, including him, first called for it in 2006. | |
| "Sending our brave troops onto the battlefield without the right equipment was unacceptable," he said. | |
| "Whatever else we learn from this conflict, we must all pledge this will never happen again." | |
| 'Difficulties plain to see' | |
| He said that MPs from all sides of the House who voted for the Iraq War "have to take our fair share of the responsibility. We cannot turn the clock back". | |
| Lessons must be learned on planning for military action, he said. | |
| However, he added that "getting all of these things right does not guarantee the success of a military intervention". | |
| Mr Cameron said he backed intervention in Libya, which was done with a UN resolution and without troops on the ground, but the difficulties there "are plain for all to see today". | |
| Other politicians | Other politicians |
| Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron called for "an apology" in the wake of the report. | |
| Speaking outside the Cabinet Office, he said: "It's a stark contrast between Mr Blair's absolute, ruthless determination to go to war almost no matter the evidence on the one hand, and on the other hand his complete failure and the government's failure to plan at all over what happened next." | Speaking outside the Cabinet Office, he said: "It's a stark contrast between Mr Blair's absolute, ruthless determination to go to war almost no matter the evidence on the one hand, and on the other hand his complete failure and the government's failure to plan at all over what happened next." |
| He said Mr Blair needed to "take responsibility" but he also aimed criticism at the opposition at the time, led by then Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith and many people who are "currently on the Conservative front bench", who he said "so spectacularly failed" to hold the government at the time to account, and who "acted as cheerleaders for war". | He said Mr Blair needed to "take responsibility" but he also aimed criticism at the opposition at the time, led by then Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith and many people who are "currently on the Conservative front bench", who he said "so spectacularly failed" to hold the government at the time to account, and who "acted as cheerleaders for war". |
| Mr Farron said the report "utterly vindicates" former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy's opposition to the war at the time. | Mr Farron said the report "utterly vindicates" former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy's opposition to the war at the time. |
| "My overriding impression is Charles Kennedy is utterly vindicated. Those who attacked him at the time owe his family, and indeed our country, an apology." | "My overriding impression is Charles Kennedy is utterly vindicated. Those who attacked him at the time owe his family, and indeed our country, an apology." |