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CHILCOT - WHO'S WHO

The key players at the heart of the decision to go to war in Iraq

From Blair to Bush - the men behind the long awaited review of the UK's war in Iraq

WHO are the key players behind the long awaited Chilcot report?

The 12.6 million word document covers a lot of ground and mentions a roll-call of figures involved in the drama leading up to, and proceeding, Britain's military campaign in Iraq.

We profile the major names mentioned in the Chilcot Report and look at their involvement in the decision to take UK to war.


 

Sir John Chilcot

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The old-style Mandarin was a member of several other inquiries and held many senior positions in the civil service before being appointed to chair the Iraq Inquiry in 2009,

Described as "very thorough", he has also come under criticism for the time taken to complete his report, after a lengthy process of so-called Maxwellisation delayed publication by several years.

His questioning style was also criticised by Philippe Sands QC for being, at times, "surprising" and "rather pathetic".

However, Sir John has won praise for advocating openness within the inquiry after setting out that he wanted to hold hearings in public "wherever possible" in his opening speech.

Little is known of the 77-year-old's private life except that he lives on Dartmoor with his artist wife Ros.

Knighted in 1998, he studied English and Modern and Medieval Languages st Pembroke College, Cambridge - where he is now an honorary fellow.


 

Tony Blair

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The former Prime Minister is expected to be heavily criticised in the report after being seen as the architect of the UK’s involvement in Iraq.

The inquiry has long been as judgement day for the 63-year-old, who many believe misled the public over the presence of weapons of mass destruction.

He is planning a press conference once the report is published and is expected to rigorously defend himself from allegations he took the UK into illegal war.

Several people have tried to perform a citizen’s arrest on the former Labour leader in recent years by those who want him tried by the International Criminal Court.

But a spokesman told The Sunday Telegraph that prosecutors would comb through the report for evidence of war crimes committed by British troops, but that the decision by Blair to go to war remained outside of its remit.


 

George W. Bush

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The US President declared war on Iraq in March 2003 in a televised address, saying: “My fellow citizens, at this hour American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger.”

After the 9/11 attacks by Al-Qaeda Tony Blair had promised Bush the UK would support the US in whatever action it took.

He famously declared it was “Mission Accomplished” on an aircraft carrier, but it was to drag on for years afterwards.

After winning a second presidential term in 2004 he continued to back the conflict, until the last part of his tenure in the White House was taken over by the financial crisis and bailing out America’s banks.

Now retired, and spends his time painting, as well as backing his brother Jeb’s unsuccessful bid to win the Republican Primary this year.


 

Saddam Hussein

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Saddam Hussein served as President of Iraq from 1979.

His reign was toppled in 2003 by the Blair/Bush coalition who insisted he was developing chemical and biological weapons to use against the West.

He was tracked down and captured hiding in a tiny, damp bunker in December that year.

Hussein was vocally defiant during a trial by an Iraqi special tribunal, which ultimately found him guilty of crimes against humanity for the killing of Shiite Muslims and Kurds.

He was executed by hanging in December 2006.


 

Alastair Campbell

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Blair’s chief spin doctor and was involved in the preparation and release of the September Dossier in September 2002 and the infamous ‘Dodgy Dossier’ in February 2003.

Both documents alleged Iraq had, and was producing further, weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

These were later accused of being 'sexed up' and used as a smoking gun to validate the UK invasion on Iraq.


 

John Scarlett

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Former spy John Scarlett was chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee at the time of the invasion.

He was involved in drawing up dossiers on Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass destruction.

In 2009 he told the Chilcot Inquiry said there had been a "misinterpretation" in the claim Saddam Hussein could hit bomb British targets with WMDs in 45 minutes.

Chilcot's report said there were major intelligence failings by senior spooks led by Sir Scarlett, who should have told Blair their information on WMD was not concrete or "beyond doubt".

He denied misleading the PM and said: “There was absolutely no conscious intention to manipulate the language or obfuscate or create a misunderstanding as to what they might refer to.”


 

Dr David Kelly

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Dr David Kelly was a biological weapons expert who spoke to BBC Today journalist Andrew Gilligan.

Gilligan published a report off the back of the interview alleging the government had “sexed up” the dossier in order to make the case for war.

As a result, Dr Kelly was ordered to give evidence before the Foreign Affairs Select Committee on July 15 2003, where he said he did not believe he was the main source for Gilligan’s story.

He was aggressively questioned over the claims and made to repeatedly deny his involvement.

He told the committee: "From the conversations I had with him, I don’t know how he could have had the authority to make the statements he is making."

Dr Kelly was found dead in the countryside near his home on July 18 2003.

His death spawned many conspiracy theories and the Government was slammed for its treatment of the tragic doctor.

Tony Blair Government set up the Hutton inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death, but it concluded Dr Kelly had committed suicide,

Many questions remain unanswered, however, with Lord Hutton demanding that much of the evidence he examined be kept secret for at least 70 years.


 

Jack Straw

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British foreign secretary at the time of the invasion.

Mr Straw has since admitted he was sceptical of the war and considered resigning over it but decided the war was “right and inevitable.”

It is thought his resignation would have stopped British involvement in the war and could have toppled Blair’s government.

In 2012 Straw said: “I deeply regret it, and I regret even more the fact the whole basis on which we went to war turned out to be wrong."


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