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| Iraq war report 'delayed until after UK election' | Iraq war report 'delayed until after UK election' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The official inquiry into the 2003 Iraq War will not publish its long-awaited report before the general election, the BBC understands. | The official inquiry into the 2003 Iraq War will not publish its long-awaited report before the general election, the BBC understands. |
| The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson said inquiry chairman Sir John Chilcot is expected to confirm in a letter to David Cameron that it will be delayed until after May's poll. | |
| Ministers said it had to be finished before March to be released by May. | |
| The inquiry began its work in 2009 and held its last public hearing in 2011. | The inquiry began its work in 2009 and held its last public hearing in 2011. |
| The inquiry has been looking into the reasons for the UK's involvement in the 2003 US-led invasion which toppled Saddam Hussein and the aftermath of the conflict, which saw UK troops remain in Iraq until 2009. | |
| MPs have demanded that the report be published before voters go to the polls on 7 May. | |
| However, Nick Robinson said the process of giving witnesses time to respond to allegations against them, which began last autumn, cannot be completed in time for this to happen. | |
| Although the Inquiry has never publicly set a deadline for publication, it has been plagued by delays with lengthy wrangling over what declassified documents can be included in the final report. | |
| The inquiry reached an agreement last summer with the UK government in which it would be allowed to refer to the "gist" of conversations and private correspondence between former prime minister Tony Blair and US President George W. Bush. | |
| Mr Blair, one of more than 100 witnesses to have appeared before the inquiry, has insisted that he is not responsible for the delays and wants the report to be made public as soon as possible. |