Iraq Inquiry report possibly delayed until after election

We reported recently that the Chilcot Report is now not due to be published until 2015, causing worries among Labour strategists that it could harm the Party’s chances at the general election. However, according to the Mail today, its release date could now be held back until after polling day next year.

The article states: “Whitehall sources suggest that with an election due in May 2015, it will be deemed too politically difficult to publish it until after voters have gone to the polls.”

At the moment, the report is apparently stalled at the ‘Maxwellisation’ stage – the legal process of informing individuals who have been criticised in the document. One source reportedly said: “It’s certainly not going to be ready before the end of the year and it would be a highly political act to publish in the months before an election. The can is going to be kicked further down the road.”

This delay will relieve many in Brewers Green, although it raises the possibility that this report will overshadow the early months of a new Labour government. While a sigh of relief may go out with respect to Labour’s election prospects, the report cannot be delayed forever: at some point the inquiry’s findings will have to be faced.

You can read Tony Blair’s speech on the Middle East yesterday here.