Timeline: Chilcot's Iraq War inquiry

Chairman Sir John Chilcot at a 2009 meeting with relatives of British soldiers who died during the war with Iraq Credit: Reuters

The chairman of the Iraq inquiry, Sir John Chilcot, has defended the delay in the Iraq inquiry report whilst facing mounting criticism from the families of those who died in the war.

He cited the 'Maxwellisation' process and the scale of the inquiry as reasons for the delay but has not so far given a timetable for the publication of his report.

It has been six years since the then Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced the inquiry. Here are some of the key dates so far in the six-year saga:

2009

  • June 15: Prime Minister Gordon Brown announces that a panel of privy councillors, led by Sir John Chilcot, will conduct an inquiry of "unprecedented" scope. Initially saying it will be held behind closed doors, he is forced into a rapid u-turn and agrees for it to be held publicly.

  • July 30: Sir John says 2010 is "probably the earliest possible" date for his report to be published.

  • November 11: The first public hearings take place.

Tony Blair appears at the Iraq Inquiry in 2010 Credit: PA Wire

2010

  • January 29: Tony Blair makes his long-awaited appearance before the inquiry, insisting he had no regrets and did not go to war on the basis of a "lie". Audience members shout "liar" and "murderer" as he leaves.

A protest outside the Iraq Inquiry when former Prime Minister Tony Blair appeared before the committee in 2010 Credit: PA Wire

  • March 5: Prime Minister Gordon Brown defends his decision to curb defence spending after the Iraq invasion. Days later, he clarifies his evidence, admitting he was wrong to claim the defence budget had risen in real terms every year.

  • June 29: Hearings resume after the general election which saw Labour lose power and the start of a new Liberal Democrat-Conservative coalition government.

Head of civil service, Cabinet Secretary Gus O'Donnell arriving at the inquiry Credit: PA Wire

2011

  • January 18: Sir John says he is "disappointed" the head of the civil service, Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell,is blocking secret messages sent by Tony Blair to George Bush saying they are "central" to the inquiry's considerations.

  • February 2: Former foreign secretary Jack Straw's evidence marks the inquiry's final public hearing.

  • November 17: The Iraq Inquiry says its report will be delayed by six months because of wrangling over the release of secret documents.

2012

  • July 16: Sir John writes to Prime Minister David Cameron alerting him to a further delay and revealing letters to people who were set to be criticised would not start to be sent until the middle of 2013.

2014

  • May 16: Cameron says he is frustrated by delays but hopes the report will be published by the end of the year.

  • May 29: It is agreed details of conversations between Blair and Bush will be published.

Reg Keys, whose son Lance Corporal Tom Keys was killed in Iraq in 2003, is one of the family members threatening legal action over the delay in Chilcot's report. Credit: PA Wire

2015

  • August 13: Families of soldiers killed in the Iraq War threaten legal action if a publication date for the report is not set within two weeks.

  • August 15: Cameron tells Sir John to "get on with it" and said delays are "immensely frustrating".

  • August 26: In the face of mounting criticism over delays in publishing the report, Sir John issues a statement saying he understands "the anguish of the families of those who lost their lives in the conflict", but adds "it is critically important that the report should be fair".