Chilcot STILL won’t say if Blair went to war illegally

FAMILIES of British soldiers killed in Iraq last night expressed anger that the Chilcot report will not rule on whether the disastrous war was illegal.

Bereaved relatives said they would struggle to ‘get closure’ over their loved ones’ deaths if the 2.6millionword document failed to answer the question of whether Tony Blair had taken the UK to war unlawfully.

Lawyers also confirmed the grieving families were considering taking legal action against the former prime minister on the grounds that he misled Parliament to justify the 2003 invasion, which cost the lives of 179 UK troops.

The families believe Mr Blair is guilty of ‘malfeasance in public office’ because he misused his constitutional powers, which led to mass casualties.

As well as British personnel, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have died since Saddam Hussein was toppled and large parts of Iraq remain in the hands of the Islamic State terror group.

The former Labour leader is facing stinging criticism for his role in taking Britain to war when Sir John Chilcot’s long-awaited report, which has taken seven years to produce and cost more than £10million, is published tomorrow.

Lord Butler, who carried out a 2004 review of the intelligence on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the lead-up to the conflict, said Mr Blair had ‘exaggerated’ UK spies’ findings. But he said the Chilcot Inquiry was not set up to answer the question of whether or not the war was unlawful. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme yesterday: ‘That wasn’t the question that Chilcot was asked to deal with.

‘What he was asked to deal with was what happened, not only in the lead-up to the war but during the war and after the war, and what lessons can be learned from it.

‘The legal issue wasn’t actually put to him and of course his review team wasn’t equipped properly to deal with that legal issue.’

Roger Bacon, whose son Major Matthew Bacon, 34, was killed by a roadside bomb in Basra in 2005, said: ‘It’s been hanging over our heads – a great rock sitting over our heads, and has worn us down for a long time.

‘What I’m expecting is the report will bring out what I’ve always believed, which is he (Blair) took us to war illegally. If it’s a whitewash I will be hugely disappointed.’

John Miller, whose son Corporal Simon Miller was one of six Red Caps killed by an Iraqi mob in 2003, said: ‘I’m bitterly disappointed that he can’t say if the war was illegal. I accept it is not in his remit but it feels like a betrayal.

‘I just hope that the criticism is robust and severe enough that it allows us to take our fight further so we can get Blair in the dock.’

Julia Nicholson, whose son Gary Nicholson, 42, was one of ten servicemen who died when their Hercules C-130 aircraft was shot down in 2005, said: ‘It will be a whitewash. I’m absolutely disgusted. I’m not going because it will be a whitewash.

‘Tony Blair has got blood on his hands. He will have covered his back and Bush’s back.’

Matthew Jury, a lawyer at McCue & Partners, which is representing 29 families, said: ‘The families will be carrying out a full, unrushed examination of the report.

‘If warranted, they will take any appropriate and necessary legal action of their own at the proper time. They will definitely be considering all options.’

Dr Shavana Musa, a lecturer in constitutional and international law at the University of Manchester, said the report could provide the basis for families of victims to take legal action.

She said: ‘The inquiry will probably not call for senior figures such as Tony Blair to be prosecuted.

‘However, evidence from the report could form the basis for future prosecutions.’

Tory MP John Baron said: ‘It is well accepted that the Blair Government took the country to war in Iraq on a false premise – there were no weapons of mass destruction.

‘However, the issue remains whether No 10 deliberately misled Parliament and the country. I hope the inquiry addresses this issue.’

General Sir Mike Jackson, the Chief of the General Staff from 2003 to 2006, told Channel 4 News: ‘I’m certainly not going to say that this intelligence was fabricated.

‘It may have been marketed rather hard for the political purpose that I can see. But I don’t feel I was misled. I think the jury is still out as to was it worth it.’

The Chilcot Inquiry, set up in 2009, examined whether troops were properly prepared for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and how the conflict was planned and conducted.

As well as Mr Blair, former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and ex-MI6 chief Sir Richard Dearlove are also expected to face criticism.