Ministers silent over reports of new delay to Chilcot inquiry

Ministers have refused to comment on reports that the Chilcot report into the Iraq war has been delayed again and is not likely to be published until next year.

The BBC reported on Monday that a source close to the inquiry said: "Nobody thinks it will come out this year."

Neither the government nor the inquiry would comment on Tuesday morning but Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, called the report "deeply concerning".

Mr Farron added: "Hundreds of thousands of families have had their lives torn apart by the Iraq war and deserve answers. It is simply not good enough for this process to be continually delayed and the report must be published."

The inquiry was set up by the last Labour government in 2009, at which point Gordon Brown, prime minister, said it would "take at least a year". Sir John Chilcot finished taking evidence from witnesses in 2011 but has been caught up in the drafting process since then.

Sir John wrote to the prime minister this year to tell him it would not be completed until after the general election, something David Cameron called "immensely frustrating".

Sir John told a committee of MPs in February that he had no deadline for completing his report and that it was being held up while those named in it had a chance to respond.

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