06/07/2016 BBC News at Ten

The official verdict on Britain's involvement in the Iraq War, 13

The decision to invade was made on the basis of unreliable

intelligence and before the peaceful alternatives had been exhausted,

The UK chose to join the invasion of Iraq before the peaceful options

Military action at that time was not a last resort.

179 British service personnel died in the conflict.

Today the families expressed their dismay and, in some

There is one terrorist in this world the world needs to be aware of,

But Tony Blair defended the decision to invade,

while acknowledging that mistakes were made at that time,

I express more sorrow, regret, and apology than you may

I can look not just the families of this country but the nation

in the eye and say, I did not mislead this country,

I made a decision in good faith on the information I had

We'll have reaction from politicians, the forces families,

The remarkable Welsh run at Euro 2016 comes to an end,

beaten 2-0 by Portugal in the semi-finals.

Disappointment for thousands of Welsh fans but pride

at the team's record achievement in a major competition.

And, at Wimbledon, Andy Murray is through to the semi-final

Coming up later in the hour on BBC News, we will have a detailed look

at the semifinal between Wales and Portugal in Euro 2016 Sportsday.

We'll also have the rest of the day's sports news.

13 years after the invasion of Iraq,

the Chilcot Report has delivered a searing verdict

on Britain's involvement, and the way in which Tony

Blair's Government made the decision to take part.

Mr Blair has expressed deep regret for the loss of life

but insisted the decision to invade was the right one.

The inquiry concluded that military action was not "the last resort"

It said the decision to invade was based on "flawed intelligence."

It said the planning for the war, and for Iraq's future,

And it said the military operation ended "a long way from success"

Tonight we'll have reaction from politicians, from families,

But, first tonight, our political editor, Laura Kuenssberg,

Are you expecting criticism today, Mr Blair?

And the man who took longer than the Iraq War itself to judge

Then, not a sound in the Westminster conference centre where the Chilcot

evidence was heard and where the families waited for a final few

seconds for the verdict that has taken seven years.

We have concluded that the UK chose to join the invasion of Iraq before

the peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted.

Military action at that time was not a last resort.

The judgments about the severity of the threat imposed by Iraq's

weapons of mass destruction, WMD, were presented with a certainty

Despite explicit warnings, the consequences of the invasion

were underestimated, the planning and preparations

for Iraq after Saddam Hussein were wholly inadequate.

The Government failed to achieve its stated objectives.

He found no evidence of deceit but simply the case

And he found a woeful lack of forethought for British forces

But were troops sent into an illegal war?

Nowhere in the 2.5 million words of this report

The inquiry suggests the conflict might have broken the law.

The circumstances in which it was decided that there was a legal basis

for UK military action were far from satisfactory.

And the report catalogued the growing determination

of Tony Blair and George Bush to take on Saddam Hussein.

At the Bush ranch in 2002, a strategy for a UN

ultimatum, or Saddam would face the consequences.

A couple of months later, in a previously-unseen note,

Blair wrote, "I will be with you whatever," still urging

By September, flawed intelligence led to this claim.

Which could be activated within 45 minutes.

But his determination was stronger than diplomacy.

By mid-March, the talking was over, the war had begun.

Tonight, British servicemen and women are engaged from air,

To remove Saddam Hussein from power and disarm Iraq.

A rapid toppling of the regime that quickly turned to failure.

Hopes of an easy transition that turned to dust.

British forces without the basics they needed, humiliated,

But Tony Blair, who made the decisions, was full

of sorrow and regret, but still thinks he was right.

The decision to go to war in Iraq, and to remove Saddam Hussein

from power in a coalition of over 40 countries led by the United States

of America, was the hardest, most momentous, most agonising

decision I took in my ten years as British Prime Minister.

For that decision today, I accept full responsibility.

Without exception and without excuse, the intelligence assessments

made at the time of going to war turned out to be wrong.

The aftermath turned out to be more hostile, protracted and bloody

The coalition planned for one set of ground facts and

A nation whose people we wanted to set free and secure from the evil

of Saddam became instead victim to sectarian terrorism.

For all of this, I express more sorrow, regret and apology

than you may ever know, or can believe.

There were no lies, there was no deceit, no deception,

The decision to remove Saddam and the decision to be with America.

The point about being Prime Minister is you are the decision maker.

You sit in the seat and take the decision.

Your obligation to the country is to take it as you believe it to be.

This report is a devastating catalogue of the failures

of your Government and paints a very clear picture of a Prime Minister

who was determined to act with the United States,

Do you understand the sentiments of some of the families who believe

you ought not just to have said sorry a long time ago

but that now you should face some kind of punishment?

I took the decision after 9/11, we should be America's closest ally.

In the end, what more can I do than to say to people this is why

If you disagree with me, fine, but please stop saying I was lying

or I had some sort of dishonest or underhand motive.

Some moments of decision, moments of protest barely last.

Some stir anger and anguish and will never be forgotten.

The Iraq inquiry may suggest once and for all this was never

Sir John Chilcot said that plans for any future

military interventions should be calculated,

debated and challenged, in stark contrast to

Sir John's report runs to 2 and a half million words

and covers every aspect of the decision-making,

the military operation, and the aftermath.

Nicholas Witchell has been looking in more detail.

For month after month, some of the most senior

figures in the land, ministers, civil servants, military

leaders and intelligence chiefs, came to give evidence.

From their testimony, and many thousands of documents,

Sir John Chilcot has distilled his conclusions.

It is on the use of intelligence that he offers some of his most

It is now clear that policy on Iraq was made on the basis of flawed

They were not challenged, and they should have been.

In the House of Commons on 24th September 2002, Mr Blair talked up

the credibility of the intelligence he was being given.

It is extensive, detailed and authoritative.

According to Mr Blair, Saddam Hussein could activate his

chemical and biological weapons within 45 minutes.

The judgments about Iraq's capabilities in that statement

and in the dossier published the same day were presented with

Not only was intelligence flawed, so too were the discussions

The Attorney General at the time was Lord Peter Goldsmith,

but it is clear from the report that time and again the Cabinet

was denied a chance to hear his detailed arguments.

One such occasion was a matter of weeks before the invasion began.

And so to the chaos of post-invasion planning and another

According to the report, Mr Blair's Government was warned

explicitly of the risk that an invasion would destabilise Iraq

And, as British forces faced the growing Iraqi insurrection,

the Government failed to equip them properly.

We have found that the Ministry of Defence was slow in responding

to the threat from improvised explosive devices and that delays

in providing adequate medium-weight protected patrol vehicles should not

Britain's invasion of Iraq has been minutely scrutinised.

Sir John Chilcot has found that it was an unwarranted invasion,

based on flawed intelligence, with insufficient discussion

It was an intervention which he said had caused anguish and suffering

The evidence is there for all to see.

It is an account of an intervention which went badly wrong,

Nicholas Witchell, BBC News, at the Iraq Inquiry.

The Chilcot Report estimates that more than 150,000 people died

in Iraq during the war and, in the years that followed,

there were 179 losses for the British Armed Forces

and many of the families had campaigned for an inquiry,

so that they could get some definitive answers

about the path to war and the subsequent campaign.

Our special correspondent, Fergal Keane, reports

on the families' reaction to the Chilcot Report.

The bereaved have endured seven years of painful waiting

Debbie Allbutt and her son Connor were on their way to hear

Steven Allbutt, husband and father, was killed in Iraq in 2003.

In the last few days, the trauma has returned.

It has brought a lot of memories back.

I have had nightmares, that I saw Steve.

I saw him in a shop, it was a nightmare.

I am just hoping we find out why we went in and why we went

In his last letter to his children, Steve wrote of how he loved them.

"Sorry, I can't tell you when I will be home," he said.

The pain will always be there, even when I am 60, the pain will be

there, because I never had a childhood with my dad.

In the quiet of nearby Westminster Abbey, former SAS man

John Brown was remembering his son, Nick, also an SAS trooper.

He wanted answers about the justification for going to war.

We want to know what the inquiry says about the entry,

I know they did not have an exit strategy.

The families were invited to meet Sir John Chilcot and read

The families came here looking for the truth that named names

Well, they've now had a chance to consider

The families gathered here trust that we speak with honour

and honesty on behalf of the families of all other

servicemen and women who died in the second Iraq War.

The families say they will study the conclusions and decide

whether to launch legal action against Tony Blair.

I'm going back to that time when I learned that my brother had

been killed, and there is one terrorist in this world

that the world needs to be aware of, and his name is Tony Blair.

But there was a welcome for the report's findings

What is your reaction to what you heard?

Amazed, I didn't expect it to be as good an outcome, really.

I thought we would have a bit of a cover up or something.

Sir John Chilcot has done us a good job.

I'm really, really pleased with the outcome.

It's good news, but at the same time it's bad news as well,

because I think if Tony Blair wasn't the Prime Minister at the time,

I think my dad could still have been here today.

Some watched proceedings from home and did not feel comforted.

This woman's son was killed when his Snatch Land Rover was hit

Tony Blair said, "George Bush, I am with you all the way."

Did he think about what he said when he said that?

Had he discussed this with his Parliament?

The former SAS man John Brown watched Tony Blair's

For all of this, I express more sorrow, regret and apology...

He knows that he's up the wall and it comes to the Chilcot inquiry.

The Chilcot Report has not given the families all the answers

they sought, but it has restored some measure of their faith

Our defence correspondent, Jonathan Beale, is at

They were killed in these inadequate vehicles. Sir John says he could

not, after seven years, identify an individual that was responsible for

the delays in replacing them. He has also identified a cultural problem

within the military. That is their can-do spirit. Although it has many

benefits, it prevented them from speaking truth to power. When things

went wrong, they simply did not speak out.

Today's report concluded that intelligence reports

Sir John said evidence gathered had not established "beyond doubt"

that Saddam Hussein had continued to produce chemical

Our security correspondent, Gordon Corera, analyses

Today's report made tough reading for Britain's spies.

Criticising the reliability of their intelligence

and the way politicians put it to use.

Failures which should never be repeated, according to the man who

led the previous inquiry into weapons of mass destruction.

I think the mistake was to use intelligence

as a means of persuasion of the United Nations

Of the United Nations, of our nation, to justify the war and when

you mix up political persuasion and intelligence, then that's very

dangerous because intelligence ought to be objective.

But was it objective? Released in the feverish atmosphere of September

2002, the Government's dossier was central to its case for war. Spies

had been desperately hunting for intelligence to put in it and MI6

told Ministers it had found a crucial new agent who had direct

knowledge of chemical weapons production. He said they were stored

in glass spheres looking just like this.

But the agent it soon emerged had based his reports on watching this

Hollywood film, real chemical weapons aren't stored this way.

Other agents like the one who talked of weapons that could be fired in 45

minutes were also making it up. Failing to spot fake intelligence

was just one of the failures. The spies were also accused today of not

challenging Tony Blair when he said their intelligence was beyond doubt,

when the reality was far less conclusive.

And even as inspectors scoured Iraq and found nothing, the spies did not

reassess their belief that weapons of mass destruction were there.

Everyone was very busy. The wheels of war were clearly turning. The

joint intelligence committee had other priorities. But we can now see

that perhaps we should have done that. The intelligence failures were

consequential and today's inquiry say they left a damming legacy of

mistrust. The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn,

who voted against the war in Iraq in 2003 apologised this afternoon

on behalf of his party for what he called the disastrous

decision to invade Iraq. Other Labour figures

who were involved in the decision in government have been

giving their response to the report's findings,

as our deputy political editor A million and more demonstrated

against the invasion and Jeremy Corbyn was with them, and they have

condemned it ever since. He never imagined then

he would be Labour leader. But he is, and today,

finally, Mr Corbyn seized Politicians and political parties

can only grow stronger by acknowledging when

they get it wrong. So, I now apologise sincerely

on behalf of my party for the disastrous decision

to go to war in Iraq. No confessions of blame though

from the decision-makers behind the invasion,

although Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary then, admits better

post-war planning might have avoided at least some of Iraq's

post-war chaos. What do you say to the families

of British servicemen, among others, who have lost loved

ones as a result of the mistakes I say to them, first of all,

that I grieve for them. They may say, it is easy

for Jack Straw to say I have deepest sympathy for those

who lost loved ones. And I feel a great burden

for that and I should do. Because I participated

in the decisions to put particularly young British men and women

in the Armed Forces in harm's way. Some of them lost their lives

or were maimed for life. No apology from Tony Blair's

communications chief, who No need according

to Alastair Campbell. There was no lying, there was no

deceit, no sexing up There was no secret deal

at Crawford with Bush. What's more, the processes,

yes, they could have been improved but ultimately

it was about the decision. He took the decision he made in good

faith and he will, for the rest of his life,

stand or fall by that. The anti-war protesters

won't forget or forgive. The Chilcot Report has not settled

arguments, nothing could. The violence, which erupted in Iraq

in 2003, has continued to this day. And Sir John Chilcot,

in today's statement, underlined the suffering

of the Iraqi people, including a million

forced from their homes. As our Middle East editor,

Jeremy Bowen, reports from Baghdad, the war sent shockwaves,

which are still being felt The people of Baghdad,

and the rest of Iraq, are still living and dying

with the consequences Security is being beefed up yet

again after the bomb that killed But the fear of a sudden random

death is never far away. When the US forces reached Baghdad

in April 2003 pictures of them helping Iraqis topple

a statue of Saddam Hussein Hadi Al Jabari started knocking

lumps out of the plinth to celebrate Now, like many Iraqis,

he's nostalgic for the brutal TRANSLATION: Saddam has gone

and we have 1,000 Saddams now. If Tony Blair was here this morning

what would you say to him? I would say to him you are

a criminal and I'd spit in his face. Less than an hour's drive

from Baghdad these are Iraqi Shia militiamen trained and equipped

by Iran, attacking Chilcot says the British Government

ignored a warning that removing Saddam would offer

Iran an opening in Iraq. Captured IS positions seem to have

been prepared by trained soldiers, IS commanders include former Iraqi

officers who joined the jihadists when the US and Britain dissolved

the Iraqi Army. Not all the chaos, violence and war

in the Middle East at the moment can be traced back to the invasion

of Iraq in 2003 but an It was like throwing a great

big rock into a pond. It sent out shockwaves -

geopolitical, religiously sectarian, military and, 13 years later,

they are still crashing Warnings about internal strife,

regional instability and the rise of jihadists were also ignored

by Number 10 says Chilcot. Iraq's sectarian violence spread

to Syria, Yemen and elsewhere as leaders used and abused

Shia-Sunni fears to fight for power. Jihadists were on the attack before

the invasion but Iraq after 2003 offered al-Qaeda a haven

and launchpad that Islamic So if you have been walking through,

for instance, a bit of water Small numbers of British troops,

filmed on condition they weren't identified, are back here training

Iraqi soldiers to fight IS, Their commander

was in Basra in 2007. We are not here in

a combat role now. We are here at the invitation

of the Government of Iraq and we are working very much hand

in hand with the Iraqi security forces to help them

in their defeat of Daesh. At this base Australians

and New Zealanders It's a long way from Basra

and what Chilcot calls the humiliating end

of an intervention that Our world affairs editor,

John Simpson, is with me. When you consider all the major

foreign policy decisions taken, let's say since the Second World

War, where does this decision to invade Iraq fit in? Well, I am

afraid it fits in with some of the very worst. The decision to invade

Egypt to try to keep control of the Suez canal in 1956 which effectively

brought British colonialism to a full stop, I would rate it also with

the Soviet decision to invade Afghanistan at the end of 1979 from

which the Soviet Union never properly recovered. I think America

has suffered very, very heavily in its reputation as a result. I think

Britain's reputation has suffered simply because it's obvious that we

played no serious part in the planning and organisation and the

whole idea of the follow-through. British officials had some clear

ideas, they knew Iraq in a way the Americans didn't, made no

difference. There is one point I think which does have to be made,

which is that Saddam Hussein was on a collision course with the West. He

was bound to do something at some stage. But instead of allowing him

to do that as he had in 1990 when he invaded Kuwait and pretty much the

whole world supported the Americans in liberating u wait, instead of

that the Americans went first, got in there first. I suspect that in -

in fact I know, that the British and maybe the Americans thought they

would find weapons of mass destruction so the whole thing would

in fact be self-justifying. And, of course, they didn't. Thank you very

much. And a reminder that the full details

of the Chilcot Report are online. The address is bbc.co.uk/news

together with reaction and analysis At Euro 2016, the remarkable run

for the Wales team has ended tonight in Lyon where they were beaten 2-0

by Portugal in the semifinals. It has been the best ever Welsh

performance in an international competition. There were high hopes

before the match that Wales would make it to the final but it was not

to be. Wales have upset the odds in France

in a way that has barely been believable. Chris Coleman's go for

and spirited side reaching the last four of this competition, the first

time in the country's history they have managed to reach the semifinal

of a major tournament. They were the form team coming into the

tournament. Four good wins going into tonight's game against Portugal

but sadly it proved a game too far. Britain has missed out on its first

finalist in a tournament since 1966. 20 years

British bubble has had to wait fortnight. That is how long it has

been since a home nation appeared in a semifinal. These players are in a

place no home nation team had been before. This was the biggest game of

their lives, the biggest in their country's history. Portugal, yet to

ignite here in France, but with one of the world's it talents in their

ranks, stood in the way. Wales had been forced to make changes. Two key

men out through suspension but they still had Gareth Bale, quickly

hunting an early breakthrough. One of those brought into the side,

Leicester City's Andy King, the next to threaten. Wales in the

ascendancy. Portugal yet to win a match inside 90 minute showing

little and attack. That, however, would soon change after the restart.

Cristiano Ronaldo living up to his billing as he towered above his

opponents, an unstoppable header giving his side the lead. Just three

minutes later, Nani stretching to double the advantage. Wales stumped.

It could have got worse. Wayne Hennessey scrambling well to deny

Portugal a third. Gareth Bale meanwhile trying desperately to drag

his side back into it. Welsh hopes beginning to fade. Portugal resolute

held firm. This is what it meant to be through to a second European

Championship final. Wales left to reflect on what might have been. I

am very proud of the team. They could not have given anymore. I

would say to them, if you have given everything you have got any have

come up so what? It was one too far for us tonight. One of the great

stories international football has ever witnessed has come to an end.

Wales go home, no doubt to a hero's welcome. The togetherness of this

remarkable team has shown lit up the euros and captured imaginations in a

way few thought possible. More than half of Wales' population

were expected to watch And tens of thousands

watched the game at We sent Sian Lloyd to soak up

the atmosphere and talk with fans. The fans back home have savoured

every second of Wales's journey. On the streets of Cardiff, excitement

was mounting. The home of Welsh rugby transformed into a football

fan zone. 27,000 tickets were available. They were all snapped up

in less than two hours. The atmosphere is outstanding. People

travelling far and wide, it is unbelievable. Excited, nervous.

Wales football is on the up now. Ever stronger. And they work

together, as they sang the national anthem in unison with the fans in

France. This atmosphere is electrifying to almost as though the

game is being played here, let alone 730 miles away in Lyon. Crowds

gathered to watch across Wales. In the open air in Aberystwyth, the

beer was flowing. From the beginning of the second half, the dream

started to fade. Cristiano Ronaldo breaking Welsh hearts. Within

minutes, the atmosphere sank again. Full-time and the dream was over.

What we have done to get to the semifinal is outstanding. We have

got this far. It has been brilliant. Wales's epic journey may have come

to an end but the enthusiasm of the fans has never wavered for a team

they are proud of. Let's go back to Lyon and talk to

Dan. There has been fantastic team spirit. We have underlined that.

Portugal, where they clearly the better team tonight? Possibly. There

was always a sneaking suspicion that the extra experience and know-how

may be the deciding factor. Cristiano Ronaldo winning his

personal duel with Gareth Bale. No doubt the Welsh players will be

sitting in the dressing room a few metres from me here, pitch side,

devastated by that loss. They have done their country proud. They will

go home as winners. They have been a credit to their nation. You have to

remember how far this country has come in terms of football. They had

to wait 58 years until now to reach the majors tournament. That is a

major tournament. They are the smallest country in population terms

ever to get this far in a major tournament. This team has

demonstrated the importance of togetherness and team spirit. They

have shown how far back and get you. There is a message for other nations

who underachieve on the international stage. We have seen

Leicester City reverse the established order in the Premier

League and now Wales have done the same on the international stage.

Sport still has the utility to surprise and delight. Thank you. --

the ability. A brief look at some

of the day's other news stories. The South African athlete

Oscar Pistorius has been sentenced to six years in prison

for murdering his girlfriend, His previous conviction

for manslaughter has been The pound has fallen further on the

international currency markets. It dipped below $1.28 today -

for the first time since 1985 - The FTSE 100 also lost ground,

as investors continued to react The Health Secretary,

Jeremy Hunt, has announced that he'll impose a new contract

on junior doctors in England. A deal between the government

and the British Medical Association was rejected by members in a vote

earlier this week. Mr Hunt said that by

autumn of next year most of the profession would be

on the new deal. It's been a thrilling day

at Wimbledon on Centre Court, with seven-time champion

Roger Federer coming back from two And Andy Murray was pushed

all the way by Jo Wilfred Tsonga but held on to make it to the semi

finals as Joe Wilson reports. Centre Court can fit in 15,000,

and ten sets of the most Andy Murray and Jo-Wilfried

Tsonga put on a display here which covered every inch

and every emotion, just in the first Murray won a tie-break

without breaks. The second set was

Murray's easily but, in the third, and he was still

chasing and not always reaching. Murray missed chances

in the fourth, lost that set. Now he had to summon

himself, recover himself. Tomas Berdych next for Murray

after a deep breath. I tried to use all my energy

at the beginning of the fifth set to get myself up,

tried to get the crowd pumped up. Andy Murray was epic

but he was not everything. Earlier in the day, the Centre Court

crowd saw another of their great Roger Federer reserves his place

on Centre Court with an immaculate For two sets, his elegance

was overpowered by Marin Cilic in Two sets down, Federer

defied three match points, came through a 20 point tie-break

in the fourth set and finished Newsnight is underway on BBC Two

with more analysis and interviews Here on BBC One, it's time

for the news where you are.