Iraq: calls for an inquiry and historical precedents

There were repeated calls for a broad-ranging official inquiry into the run-up to the Iraq war. Opposition Day debates in the House of Commons were used by both the Conservative party and others to press the government for an investigation.

The government resisted the calls, at first partly because it considered that there had been several inquiries already, later because the government argued that it would not be right for an inquiry to take place while troops were still serving in Iraq.

An inquiry under Sir John Chilcot was finally announced in 2009 but it now looks as if it will not publish its report until 2016. Details of the controversies over the Chilcot Inquiry can be found in the Library briefing paper Chilcot Inquiry and delays to publication, 3 June 2015