MPs to put pressure on ministers to publish Iraq report

MPs are to put pressure on ministers to ensure the long-awaited Iraq inquiryreport is published in the next few weeks.

The Chilcot report is due to be handed to Government officials on Monday, when national security checks will begin.

Tory former foreign minister David Davis said there is no reason why theGovernment should not complete the checks and publish the report within afortnight.

There have been suggestions that the Government could delay the publication until after the EU referendum.

Chairman Sir John Chilcot began work on the inquiry more than six years ago but repeated delays to the publication of the two million word report have caused outrage among families of soldiers killed in the war.

Reg Keys, whose son Lance Corporal Tom Keys was killed in Iraq in 2003, has campaigned for the release of the report. Credit: PA

Among them is Reg Keys from Solihull, whose son Lance Corporal Tom Keys was killed in 2003. Last October he told ITV News Central it is "anger and disappointment that it has taken so long".

Mr Davis, who will lead a backbench debate on the issue in the House of Commons on Thursday, said there would be uproar if the report is not published swiftly.

David Davis MP has called on the report to be published swiftly. Credit: PA

He said it would be "inexplicable" for the Government to delay thepublication until after the EU referendum on June 23.

Sir John said his report will run to more than two million words, potentially the longest report in history. Here are some approximate comparisons to some of literature's longest works.

Labour's Paul Flynn, who is supporting the debate, said there was "no excuse" to continue the "sinful and wicked" delay.

On Wednesday Commons Speaker John Bercow criticised the lengthy wait for the Iraq inquiry, saying it has become "exceptionally and excessivelyprotracted".