Chilcot inquiry timeline

Sir John Chilcot will publish the Iraq inquiry's report on July 6th, 2016.

Here are the key events leading up to its publication:

June 15th, 2009: Prime minister Gordon Brown announces the establishment of an independent privy counsellor committee of inquiry to identify lessons that can be learned from the Iraq war. Sir John Chilcot confirmed as chair of the panel which will include Baroness Usha Prashar, Sir Roderic Lyne, Sir Lawrence Freedman and Sir Martin Gilbert.

July 30th, 2009: Sir John Chilcot launches the inquiry, saying that he will hold as many public meetings as possible and that the panel "will not shy away from making criticism" if it finds that mistakes have been made.

October 13th, 2009: The inquiry meets with families who lost loved ones during the Iraq war and announces that there will be several more such meetings in October.

November 24th, 2009: Public hearings commence. Sir John Chilcot says the inquiry is "committed to openness" and that the panel is "determined" to conduct proceedings in public as far as possible.

November 3th, 2009: Sir David Manning, Tony Blair's foreign policy adviser, tells the inquiry that the prime minister was dedicated throughout the Iraq crisis to achieving an international solution through the United Nations.

December 8th, 2009: Sir John Scarlett, former chief of the British secret intelligence service who drew up the government's notorious Iraq dossier, appears to distance himself while giving evidence from Mr Blair's claim that intelligence had established "beyond doubt" that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.

January 12th, 2010: Alastair Campbell, who was director of communications and strategy to the prime minister, denies that he sought to "beef up" the government's dossier on Saddam Hussein's supposed weapons of mass destruction.

January 18th, 2010: Jonathan Powell, chief of staff to the prime minister, denies that an attempt was made to "bully" attorney general Lord Goldsmith into authorising the war but says it was made clear that he could not simply sit on the fence with a legal opinion.

January 19th, 2010: Former defence secretary Geoff Hoon tells the inquiry the Treasury, under Mr Brown as chancellor, failed to fund the forces properly in the years before the conflict and then slashed their budget following the invasion.

January 21st, 2010: Jack Straw, former foreign secretary, admits to the inquiry that he only "very reluctantly" came round to supporting the invasion of Iraq.

January 26th, 2010: Elizabeth Wilmshurst, who resigned from her role as deputy legal adviser to the foreign office over the Iraq war, tells the inquiry that Foreign Office lawyers were united in the belief that a further resolution of the Security Council was needed to authorise military action.

January 27th, 2010: Former attorney general Lord Goldsmith gives evidence to the panel, saying he gave the "green light" to invade Iraq just two days after meeting US government lawyers.

January 29th, 2010: A defiant Mr Blair tells the inquiry that he has no regrets over removing Saddam Hussein and would do the same again.

February 8th, 2010: Jack Straw is called to the panel again and denies blocking detailed cabinet discussion on the attorney general's advice on the legality of military action against Iraq.

March 5th, 2010: Gordon Brown expresses his sorrow for the loss of life in the conflict in Iraq while insisting it had been the "right decision" to overthrow Saddam Hussein.

June 29th, 2010: The inquiry resumes its public hearings for five weeks. Sir John Chilcot says that this stage of the inquiry will, for the first time, cover military equipment and personnel issues.

July 30th, 2010: Sir John Prescott discloses to the panel that he privately harboured doubts about the intelligence used to justify the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

January 18th, 2011: Sir John Chilcot says the inquiry is "disappointed" that it cannot publish the notes Mr Blair sent to President George W Bush nor the records of their discussions. In a statement marking the opening of another short round of public hearings, Sir John says that the inquiry "may not always be able to publish as fully as it would wish the evidential basis for some of its comments and conclusions".

January 21st, 2011: Mr Blair is recalled to the inquiry where he is jeered and heckled by relatives in the hearing room as he said he "deeply and profoundly" regretted the loss of life in the Iraq War.

January 27th, 2011: Lord Boyce, former chief of defence staff between 2001 and 2003, tells the inquiry that Mr Blair repeatedly failed to deliver on his promises to provide the military with all the resources they needed for operations in Iraq.

February 2nd, 2011: At the last public hearing, Jack Straw tells the inquiry that just days before the invasion of Iraq he advised Mr Blair that they need not necessarily send in British troops with the Americans.

November 16th, 2011: The Iraq Inquiry says it will not publish the report until summer of 2012 — a delay of six months — because of a wrangling over the release of secret documents.

July 13th, 2012: Sir John Chilcot writes to David Cameron alerting him that the report will be delayed until the middle of 2013 once a process of 'Maxwellisation' is completed.

September 2nd, 2013: Delays to report criticised as a "gross abdication of responsibility" by Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament as it emerges that report is unlikely to be published before the end of the year.

January 20th, 2015: Sir John Chilcot writes to David Cameron confirming that there is "no realistic prospect" of delivering the report before the general election in May.

February 4th, 2015: The task of providing those most deeply affected by the Iraq War with "the answers they deserve" must not be rushed, Sir John Chilcot tells MPs during a grilling by the commons foreign affairs committee.

October 28th, 2015: Sir John Chilcot writes to Mr Cameron setting out a timetable for completion of the report. In the letter he says that it will be possible to agree a date for publication in June or July once national security checks have been completed.

May 6th, 2016: The chairman of the inquiry writes again to the prime minister, this time confirming a date for publication of July 6th, 2016.

July 6th, 2016: The inquiry committee intends to publish the Report of the Iraq Inquiry. It will include all but the most sensitive information which could threaten national security. Parliament will then debate the findings. Family members of some of the victims are expected in London for the findings, with a protest planned by Stop The War Coalition.

PA