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Chilcot report live: Blair says report clears him of 'bad faith' but Iraq inquiry says he exaggerated case for war Chilcot report live: Corbyn suggests parliament should act against Blair after inquiry says case for war exaggerated
(35 minutes later)
1.34pm BST
13:34
The Labour MP Alan Johnson asks Cameron if is has found any evidence of lies told to parliament when the Commons debated Iraq in March 2003.
Cameron says he can’t find an accusation of “deliberately deceiving people” in the report. But there are complaints about information not being presented accurately.
1.25pm BST
13:25
Esther Addley
The family members of some of the British servicemen and women who died in Iraq have welcomed the #Chilcot report, with many saying it had set down in black and white what they had been arguing for more than a decade.
Rose Gentle, whose son Gordon was 19 when he was killed, said: “Now we can turn and say we have got the proof. Twelve years of fighting for my son have been worth it.”
Many spoke of their relief that the report had finally been published. Pauline Graham, Gordon Gentle’s grandmother and Rose Gentle’s mother, said: “Now we know where we stand and what we can do. Tony Blair should betaken to court for trial for murder. He can’t get away with this any more.”
Some fought back tears while speaking of the loved ones they had lost, and there was also widespread anger. Mark Thompson, father of Kevin Thompson who was killed in 2007, said he also blamed Blair. “He’s destroyed families. We have lost grandchildren. We have lost a daughter-in-law. He’s got everything. He should be stripped of everything he has for what he’s done. It was an illegal war. My son died in vain. He died for no reason.”
Many of the family members hope to bring private prosecutions following the report’s publication, but Matthew Jury, who represents the family members of 29 who died, said it would take “weeks and months of full and proper consideration” before decisions could be made. “Legal proceedings may be possible”, he said, but it was too early to determine anything further.
Peter Brierley, whose son Shaun died in 2003, said: “What I have always said is what I want is to be able to go home, sit in my chair, switch on the telly and say, I have done everything I possibly can. There is nothing else I can do for my son. With this today, that seems at least to be closer now.”
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1.21pm BST
13:21
The Conservative MP David Davis says that, although Sir John Chilcot does not accuse Tony Blair of deceit, “a lot of evidence” suggests that he did deceive MPs. For example, the Bush memo mentioned earlier (see 1.01pm) said the aim of the invasion was regime change. That is not something Blair admitted at the time. What action can the Commons take about the fact it was deceived.
Cameron says that this issue is complicated. But he says that he has looked at the report carefully, and Chilcot does not seem to be accusing Blair of deceit.
1.19pm BST
13:19
Margaret Beckett, the Labour MP who was environment secretary at the time, sounded almost tearful as she told MPs that people who voted for the war (like her) had to take responsibility for what they did. But did Cameron agree that terrorists also needed to take responsibility for what they did.
Cameron agrees. He says MPs have to take responsibility for how they voted.
1.17pm BST
13:17
There’s a lot of reaction coming in from human rights groups and other NGOs to the Chilcot report. This is the response from Amnesty International’s UK director, Kate Allen:
In the lead-up to the Iraq invasion we warned that there could be terrible consequences and tragically we were proved right, with thousands of civilians killed and injured, millions of people forced from their homes and the whole country thrown into chaos.
At the time we had a clear sense that politicians were intent on invading Iraq at any cost and that they’d set out to use the appalling human rights record of Saddam Hussein’s rule to help justify the decision to invade. Iraqi abuses we’d been documenting for years were suddenly being mentioned in speeches and in government briefing papers.
It’s a tragedy that politicians and their advisers failed to properly assess the human rights consequences of such a massive military operation (including the horrible sectarian violence it helped unleash), and it’s also a tragedy that the horrors of Abu Ghraib and cases like Baha Mousa all followed.
1.15pm BST
13:15
Angus Robertson, the SNP leader at Westminster, asks David Cameron why he did not mention the note from Tony Blair to President Bush saying: “I will be with you, whatever.” (See 1.01pm.) Cameron said he had alluded to this.
1.10pm BST
13:10
Here’s a video extract of the very emotional press conference held by families of some of the service personnel killed in Iraq after the report was published.
1.09pm BST
13:09
Cameron tells MPs it is good when MPs debate issues like going to war early. In 2003 the debate took place just before the war was due to start, and as a result some MPs felt they were obliged to support British troops by voting in favour.
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1.06pm BST
13:06
The main Commons statements on the Chilcot report are now over. But backbench MPs now have a chance to question David Cameron about the report, and this session will go on for another hour or so. We won’t be covering every question, but we will cover the highlights.
1.05pm BST
13:05
Cameron is responding to Corbyn.
He says the intelligence and security committee has already been beefed up. He says it would be a mistake to change those arrangements now.
He says he is opposed to a war powers act. He has looked at this carefully, he says. It would get us into a “legal mess”.
He says he disagrees with Corbyn over the US. Corbyn thinks it is always wrong. Cameron says he is not saying it is always right, but he suggests it often is.
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1.03pm BST
13:03
Corbyn suggests Commons could take action against Blair for misleading it
Corbyn is addressing the lessons that need to be learnt.
He calls for better parliamentary oversight of decisions to go to war. There should be a war powers act, he says.
And the use of drones should also be subject to parliamentary scrutiny, he says.
MPs should be given rigorous and objective evidence when deciding whether to go to war.
Corbyn says MPs were misled in the run-up to the war. The Commons must decide what action it wants to take about this.
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1.01pm BST
13:01
Here is a page of one of the memos from Tony Blair to George W Bush, which we reported on earlier. This contains what seems likely to become one of the best-known lines from Chilcot, Blair telling the US president in July 2002: “I will be with you, whatever.”
You can read the full pdf version here.
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12.58pm BST12.58pm BST
12:5812:58
Corbyn's statement on the Chilcot reportCorbyn's statement on the Chilcot report
Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, begins by paying tribute to those killed, and to their relatives. He met some relatives yesterday, he says.Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, begins by paying tribute to those killed, and to their relatives. He met some relatives yesterday, he says.
He says the report should not have taken this long.He says the report should not have taken this long.
He says the “overwhelming weight of international legal opinion” says the invasion was illegal.He says the “overwhelming weight of international legal opinion” says the invasion was illegal.
It had devastating consequences, he says, fuelling terrorism and war across the region.It had devastating consequences, he says, fuelling terrorism and war across the region.
By any measure the invasion and occupation of Iraq “has been for many a catastrophe”.By any measure the invasion and occupation of Iraq “has been for many a catastrophe”.
He says it has led a break-down in trust in politics.He says it has led a break-down in trust in politics.
While the governing class got it wrong, many people got it right. Some 1.5m people marched against the war, he says.While the governing class got it wrong, many people got it right. Some 1.5m people marched against the war, he says.
He says those opposed to the war did not condone Saddam Hussein. Many of them had protested against him when America and the UK were still supporting him.He says those opposed to the war did not condone Saddam Hussein. Many of them had protested against him when America and the UK were still supporting him.
He says we must be saddened by what has been revealed.He says we must be saddened by what has been revealed.
Many MPs voted to stop the war. But they have not lived to see themselves vindicated.Many MPs voted to stop the war. But they have not lived to see themselves vindicated.
He recalls Robin Cook. He said in his resignation speech, in a few hundred words, what Chilcot has shown would come to pass.He recalls Robin Cook. He said in his resignation speech, in a few hundred words, what Chilcot has shown would come to pass.
Here’s part of what Corbyn said:
By any measure, the invasion and occupation of Iraq has been, for many, a catastrophe. The decision to invade Iraq in 2003 on the basis of what the Chilcot report calls ‘flawed intelligence’ about the weapons of mass destruction has had a far-reaching impact on us all.
It’s led to a fundamental breakdown in trust in politics and in our institutions of government. The tragedy is that while the governing class got it so horrifically wrong, many of our people actually got it right. On 15 February 2003, 1.5m people, spanning the entire political spectrum, and tens of millions of people across the world, marched against the impending war, the greatest-ever demonstration in British history.
Robin Cook's resignation. Greatest parliamentary speech of my lifetime. Oh that they had listened. https://t.co/uqyud6OoCW … #Chilcot #BlairRobin Cook's resignation. Greatest parliamentary speech of my lifetime. Oh that they had listened. https://t.co/uqyud6OoCW … #Chilcot #Blair
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12.54pm BST12.54pm BST
12:5412:54
My colleague Damien Gayle is with protesters in London. Unsurprisingly, the Stop the War Coalition still believe Tony Blair should face prosecution in the wake of Chilcot.My colleague Damien Gayle is with protesters in London. Unsurprisingly, the Stop the War Coalition still believe Tony Blair should face prosecution in the wake of Chilcot.
Lindsey German of @STWuk: #Chilcot is not the end, it's the beginning pic.twitter.com/H34yK7P9wrLindsey German of @STWuk: #Chilcot is not the end, it's the beginning pic.twitter.com/H34yK7P9wr
12.51pm BST
12:51
Jessica Elgot
Earlier, during prime minister’s questions, Cameron said it was important to “learn the lessons of the report”.
The SNP’s Angus Robertson had asked about planning, citing not just Iraq, but Afghanistan, Libya, Syria and for the UK post-Brexit. “When will the UK government actually start learning from the mistakes of the past rather than condemned to repeat them in the future?” he asked.
Cameron said it was not possible for planning to be fool-proof. “What John Chilcot says about the failure to plan is very, very clear,” Cameron said said, citing the new national security council set up by the coalition government after the 2010 election as an example of new methods of decision-making.
“There is actually no set of arrangements and plans that can provide perfection in any of these cases,’ he went on.
“We can argue whether military intervention is ever justified and I think it is, but planning for the aftermath is always difficult. I don’t think in this House we should be naive in any way that there’s a perfect set of plans that can solve these problems in perpetuity – there aren’t.”
12.51pm BST
12:51
Cameron says Chilcot report should not rule out further military interventions
Cameron says there are some lessons from Iraq that should not be drawn.
First, it would be wrong to conclude that Britain should not support America, he says.
Second, we should not conclude that we cannot rely on the judgments of the intelligence agency. He says the report shows how assessing intelligence, and taking policy decisions based on that, must be kept separate.
Third, it would be wrong to conclude that the military cannot intervene successfully.
And, fourth, it would be wrong to conclude that intervention is always wrong.
12.48pm BST
12:48
Cameron on the lessons to be learnt from Iraq
Cameron says MPs voted for military action.
MPs who voted in favour will have to take “our share” of responsibility.
He says, even when the government plans thoroughly, that does not guarantee success in a military intervention. He cites Libya as an example.
He is now turning to lessons.
First, war should be a last resort, he says.
Second, government machinery matters. That is why he set up the national security council, he says. He also says he has appointed a national security adviser.
Cameron says the government would not commit troops now without a full and thorough debate in the national security council.
Third, culture matters too, he says. It must be safe for officials to challenge ministers without being afraid. He says in the NSC everyone can speak their mind.
Fourth, Cameron says the government can now deploy experts around the world at short notice.
Fifth, Cameron says it is important to ensure the armed forces are properly resourced. The government is doing this. He says the decision to sent troops to Iraq without proper equipment was “unacceptable”.
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12.43pm BST
12:43
Cameron says Chilcot says the UK did not provide the UK forces with appropriate equipment.
The MoD was slow to respond to the threat from IEDs (improvised explosive devices), he says.
Cameron says Chilcot says the government could have re-assessed - but did not.
And Chilcot says it was too focused on withdrawing from Iraq, Cameron says.
Cameron says Chilcot says it is questionable whether not participating in invasion would have broken the US/UK partnership.
12.41pm BST
12:41
Cameron says Chilcot does not accuse Blair of deliberate attempt to deceive people
Cameron says Chilcot does not express a view as to whether or not the war was legal.
But he says the circumstances in which its legality was evaluated were unsatisfactory.
He says Chilcot says diplomatic options had not been exhausted.
He says Chilcot criticises the decision-making process in Number 10.
And Chilcot says Blair sent notes to President Bush not agreed with colleagues.
But Chilcot did not find there was a deliberate attempt to deceive people, Cameron says.
12.37pm BST
12:37
Cameron is now summarising some of the report’s findings.
He says Chilcot found there was a genuine belief in Washington and London that Saddam Hussein had chemical and biological weapons, and was trying to get nuclear weapons.
But the idea that Saddam did not have these weapons was not seriously considered by the joint intelligence committee, he says.
He adds that Chilcot says Robin Cook showed that it was possible to come to a different conclusion from the intelligence.
He says Chilcot found that Blair did not improperly influence the September 2002 dossier about Iraq’s WMDs. But Chilcot says the limitations of the intelligence should have been made clearer.
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12.37pm BST
12:37
Heather Stewart
Another of our stories on the report, this one about criticisms of the foreign secretary in 2003, Jack Straw:
Jack Straw signed up to plans for an invasion in Iraq, despite fearing there could be ‘a long and unsuccessful war’, the Chilcot report finds.
The report states the then foreign secretary raised the question in response to a briefing in March 2003 of what would happen in the event of a protracted conflict, but ‘Mr Straw’s question was not put to officials and there is no indication that it was considered further’.
It also criticises Straw’s role in the deeply flawed process of preparing for post-crisis Iraq, with the UK failing to win over Washington to its preferred plan for the UN to take the lead. ‘It was Mr Straw’s responsibility as foreign secretary to give due consideration to the range of options available to the UK’ should it fail to convince the US that the UN should take charge, it says.
‘These included making UK participation in military action conditional on a satisfactory post-conflict plan … Mr Straw did not do so in January 2003,’ it says.
Read the full story:
Related: Jack Straw's role in preparing for post-crisis Iraq criticised by Chilcot
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12.34pm BST
12:34
Cameron's statement on the Chilcot report
David Cameron is making his statement about the Chilcot report now.
He says families of those killed waited too long for it. He pays tribute to their service. And he says we must never forget the thousands more injured in Iraq.
12.31pm BST
12:31
Clare Short, international development secretary at the time of the Iraq war, has told the BBC she feels “terrible” about her role in what happened. These are from the BBC’s Chris Mason.
Fmr Lab Cab Min Clare Short has said she feels “terrible” over her role in run up to the Iraq War and her failure to prevent the conflict.
"I know I tried my damnedest,” Clare Short told @BBCNews. “But I failed and for that I feel terrible.”
12.29pm BST
12:29
This is from CND’s general secretary, Kate Hudson:
The report shows that Tony Blair had no respect for cabinet procedure, no respect for parliament, and no respect for international law. A country was destroyed, millions of innocent Iraqis were killed, British soldiers were killed, and terrorism has spread across the Middle East.
Chilcot reveals the evidence that must now be used to bring Tony Blair to justice. This is our demand. Only when justice is served can we prevent disasters like the Iraq war ever happening again.
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