Chilcot Inquiry into Iraq war to be vetted by spies ahead of summer publication

Some families have expressed concerns that key elements of the report could be watered down

The controversial 2003 invasion of Iraq, spearheaded by Tony Blair, has been the subject of the Chilcot inquiry since 2009, which is set to report back this summer (AFP/Getty)

Britain’s intelligence agencies are preparing to vet the final version of the Chilcot Inquiry’s report into the Iraq war ahead of publication this summer.

A team of security officials at MI5, MI6 and the Cabinet Office are expected to be given access to the two-million word document at the beginning of next week.

Some of the families of those who were killed in Iraq have expressed concern that the process could result in some of the key elements of the report being watered down. However, this has been categorically denied by both the Government and Sir John Chilcot himself.

Sir John said the checking process was a “necessary and normal procedure in inquiries that have considered a large volume of sensitive material”. He added its purpose was to ensure that the Government met its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and for the protection of national security.

The team who will carry out the vetting recently met John Penrose, the minister in charge of the Government’s response to the report, and is now said to be “all set” to start work.

Mr Penrose told The Sunday Telegraph that the process would take just two weeks to complete; however, the report would not be published until June or July because of the time needed to prepare it for publication and printing.

The delay may also be due to pressure from the Government not to publish such a controversial and distracting report before the referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union.

“Nobody wants this to take any longer than it has already,” Mr Penrose said. “The process of checking by security officials will take no more than two weeks to complete. Sir John can then complete the process of preparing his report for publication on the timetable set out in his letter to the Prime Minister last October. We look forward to seeing the final report then.”

But Reg Keys, whose son 20-year-old son Lance Corporal Thomas Keys died in an ambush in Iraq in 2003, said he wanted to know who was going through the report and how ministers would ensure that embarrassing findings were not edited out.

Mr Keys added he was worried that there could be “cohorts of Tony Blair and Alistair Campbell going through” the report, adding the group had to be “politically neutral”. “There needs to be a referee almost – if someone says ‘I am taking this out', it needs to be shown to an independent person, otherwise it will be a whitewash,” he said.

Mr Keys said it was “absolutely absurd” that Sir John and the Government were sticking to a publication date of June or July to allow time for type-setting and proof-setting.

He said he was worried that the report’s publication would be overshadowed by the European Union referendum on 23 June. “If it is held up to after the referendum, it will be a ‘good day to bury bad news’," he said. "Does the Prime Minister want to be juggling two heavyweight news items at the same time?”

The news comes ahead of a House of Commons debate this week when MPs will put pressure on the Government not to allow national security vetting to delay publication.

David Davis MP, the former Conservative shadow Home Secretary who is leading the debate, urged the Government to ensure the report is published as soon as possible. He said any delay was “frankly outrageous. This foot dragging has been going on long enough. The whole country is fed up waiting for answers".

Writing in yesterday’s Sunday Telegraph, Mr Davis wrote: "The families of those 179 British soldiers who died fighting for their country in Iraq have already waited long enough for answers. They have suffered for years as the inquiry has dragged on and on. Making them wait months longer, just because the Government is worried about what (if any) impact the report may have on the referendum, would be unspeakably cruel.

“This is not about pinning blame on people, it is about facing up to the mistakes we made as a nation. It is about giving those who have suffered great loss some solace in the truth.”

The Chilcot Inquiry started work in November 2009 and took its last oral evidence five years ago in February 2011.

By contrast, the last major report on the conflict – the Butler inquiry into the intelligence behind the decision to go to war – started work on 3 February 2004 and was published five months later.