Iraq Inquiry to cost UK taxpayers £10mn

Critics say the British taxpayers should not pay the bill for the Inquiry into Britain’s role in the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.

“The taxpayer shouldn’t have to foot the bill for the Chilcot Inquiry nor should they have to foot the bill for the war in Iraq, nor should have Britain gone to war on Iraq. The total inquiry is part of a long process of injustice,” said Sharif Nashashibi, the Chairman of the London-based Arab Media Watch.

Earlier this week, Lord Wallace of Saltaire announced that the ongoing probe into Britain’s involvement in the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq will cost the British taxpayers some £10mn. The public inquiry, also known as Chilcot, has already cost £9mn.


“The costs in terms of lives and money, has been absolutely horrendous. The cost of the inquiry is dwarfed by cost of the war,” noted Nashashibi.

The U-S-led invasion of Iraq has already cost the United Kingdom some £ 9.6 billion. A total of 179 members of the UK armed forces have lost their lives in the battle.

“Primarily, the US and Britain, as the ringleaders of the invasion should be held responsible. Tony Blair and George Bush, without them the invasion wouldn’t have happened. They were the architects of this [war] based on fabrication and false perspectives,” he added.

Chilcot Inquiry is supposed to answer questions regarding Britain’s role in the Iraq War between mid-2001 and July 2009.

The UK government has already been under pressure from MPs to release the completion date of the Inquiry, amid growing concerns that it will not be ready for publication until after the general elections.