Sir John Chilcot : 'The hearings will be held
in public whenever possible'
The "huge job" of going through vast
amounts of material and evidence means the Iraq inquiry could continue
into 2011 says chairman Sir John Chilcot.
Launching the inquiry he said it would be "as open as
possible" with hearings televised and streamed online.
But he said some hearings would be held in private for
national security reasons or to allow "more candour".
Sir John said Tony Blair would be among those asked to give
evidence and said he did not expect anyone to refuse.
There
have been complaints that the inquiry, which will cover events from the
summer of 2001 to the end of July 2009, will not report back before the
next general election.
'Historical context'
But Sir John said it was "quite simply a huge job" and the
panel had to be given sufficient time to do it thoroughly.
He said he was determined to avoid "a long drawn out inquiry".
But
he added: "A period of as little as a year is not going to be enough.
So I think late in 2010 is probably going to be the earliest
possibility but I don't at all rule out the possibility we may have to
go beyond that."
He said he wanted as many people as possible to have access to
the
hearings - which "includes the possibility of hearings being televised
and live streaming on the internet". Transcripts would be available on
a special website.
While the inquiry would cover eight years, it would be put in
a "historical context".
Sir
John said if, on looking through the evidence, they decided an interim
report would be appropriate they would publish one. But he said: "It is
more likely... that our report will be a single one at the end of the
committee's deliberations."
First priority
The inquiry's panel has already begun work, making the first
requests for government documents.
But the chairman said it could take months to read through the
"huge amount" of material and identify issues on which to focus.
Its "first priority" would be to hear from the families of
British service personnel killed during the conflict, he said.
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INQUIRY MEMBERS
Sir John Chilcot, former civil servant
Sir Roderick Lyne, former diplomat
Sir Martin Gilbert, historian
Sir Lawrence Freedman, historian
Baroness Prashar, crossbench peer
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All documents held by the British government and any British
citizen could be called to give evidence, he said.
The inquiry panel came in with "open minds" and a
determination to "review the evidence independently".
He said nobody was "on trial" but the committee would "not shy
away from making criticism".
"If
we find on going through the evidence that we see ... that people fell
short in their duty, made mistakes, acted wrongly, we shall most
certainly say so and say so clearly."
He suggested that key
figures - likely to include Tony Blair - would appear towards the end
of the inquiry to ensure that they were asked the right questions.
'Highly unlikely'
Several
MPs have said witnesses should be made to give evidence under oath and
there have been questions about whether the inquiry would be able to
compel witnesses to attend.
Sir John said: "Frankly I don't expect any witnesses whom we
invite to refuse to appear - it seems to me highly unlikely."
He said there was no legal basis, in a non-judicial inquiry,
to make people give evidence under oath.
But he added: "If someone were foolish or wicked enough to
tell a
serious untruth in front of the inquiry like that, their reputation
would be destroyed utterly and forever. It won't happen."
There have already been four inquiries into aspects of the war
but critics say there are still questions to answer.
Sir
Menzies Campbell said the panel should have included a senior military
and political figure and should have appointed a QC to conduct cross
examinations.
Shadow foreign secretary William Hague told the
BBC he was pleased some sessions would be held in public and the
inquiry could "apportion blame".
Mountain to climb
But he said: "I was a little concerned that Sir John has said
sessions can be held in private if there is a need for candour.
"We
hope the whole inquiry will see a lot of candour and I hope this won't
become an excuse for ministers and former ministers to hold sessions in
private when it is not necessary to do so."
Liberal Democrat
leader Nick Clegg said the inquiry must have "teeth" adding: "The
government must not be able to interfere to keep Blair and Brown out of
the spotlight for the sake of political convenience in the run-up to an
election.
"Tony Blair ordered this disastrous war and Gordon
Brown signed the cheques - without public appearances from them this
inquiry will be seen as a whitewash."
For the SNP Angus Robertson also said Mr Brown and Mr Blair
must give evidence in public.
He
added: "Sir John Chilcot has a mountain to climb if he is to convince
people that this an open and independent inquiry and not some
establishment stitch-up with Downing Street pulling the strings."
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The
government must not be able to interfere to keep Blair and Brown out of
the spotlight for the sake of political convenience in the run-up to an
election 
