Iraq inquiry to resume hearings

Ex-civil servant Sir John Chilcot is chairing the inquiry

The Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq war is set to resume its hearings after a four-and-a-half-month break.

Witnesses expected to attend over the summer include former UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix and ex-Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott.

The session begins with Douglas Brand, the former chief police adviser to Iraq’s interior ministry.

The panel, which has already interviewed Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, will report later this year.

Chaired by retired senior civil servant Sir John Chilcot, the inquiry is looking at the UK’s role in the war, including its build-up and aftermath.

US visit

Other witnesses to be interviewed over the summer will include former chiefs of the defence staff General Sir Richard Dannatt and General Sir Mike Jackson, with the session ending on 30 July.

Other figures who will face questions on Wednesday are former legal counsellors Iain MacLeod and Cathy Adams.

The inquiry halted its public hearings in early March, two months ahead of the general election, stating that it was “non-political” and did not want to influence events.

Since then, it has been analysing the evidence gathered so far, while the five-member panel has visited France and the US to speak to key figures involved in the war.