An independent inquiry into Britain’s role in the war in Iraq begins public hearings on Tuesday that will culminate in the eagerly-awaited testimony from former prime minister Tony Blair.
Military chiefs, diplomats, ministers and senior officials will all be called before the five-member committee as it looks into what lessons can be learned from the controversial war.
The inquiry committee’s chairman, former civil servant John Chilcot, said Monday he was confident of producing a “full and insightful” account of the decision-making process which took Britain into the conflict.
“Our determination is to do not merely a thorough job but one that is frank and will bear public scrutiny,” he told the BBC.
“All five members of the committee are now completely independent from different perspectives and bodies of experience,” he added.
John Scarlett, the former head of foreign intelligence service MI6, and one-time ambassadors to the United States, Christopher Meyer, and to the United Nations, Jeremy Greenstock, will be among the first to give evidence.
Related articles: