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‘Sinister Forces’ Planning Whitewash Over Iraq War: Parliamentarian

© East News / Marko Georgiev / PolarisBritish forces stationed in Basra train Iraqi troops
British forces stationed in Basra train Iraqi troops - Sputnik International
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Member of the Scottish Parliament John Finnie said that the sinister forces suppressing the truth about this illegal war are still very active and planning another British establishment "white wash."

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EDINBURGH, January 7 (Sputnik), Mark Hirst – "Sinister forces" are planning another whitewash over UK's decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003, Member of the Scottish Parliament John Finnie told Sputnik on Wednesday.

"Things aren't simple and the sinister forces suppressing the truth about this illegal war are still very active and planning another British establishment "white wash," Finnie said.

His comments came after a number of Peers in the House of Lords, the upper chamber of the British Parliament, warned any further delay in the publication of the Chilcot report – set up to examine the circumstances surrounding Britain's decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003 – risked becoming a public scandal.

"This has dragged on beyond the questions of mere negligence and forgivable delay – it is becoming a scandal," Lord Hurd, a former British Foreign Secretary, told the House of Lords on Tuesday. "This is not something which is of trivial importance, it is something which a large number of people in this country look anxiously for truth."

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But Finnie told Sputnik he believed too much time had passed and it was unlikely the report, when finally published, would lead to war crimes charges being brought against former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

"Given the time that has elapsed since it was set up, there's a reducing likelihood of the Chilcot inquiry producing any meaningful outcome," Finnie said.

"The UK's elites look after each other and, notwithstanding what many, myself included, believe is prima face evidence of war crimes, I don't see this endless inquiry the vehicle to get Tony Blair in the dock at the international Criminal Court in the Hague for war crimes," Finnie added.

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The parliamentarian also said that he supported the idea of an amendment to Scots law that would make illegal waging war with the intention of regime change in order to bring Blair to trial in Scotland.

In December 2014, UK Prime Minister David Cameron said the release of the Chilcot report was entirely up to the investigators, who conducted their study between 2009 and 2011. The million-word report was expected to be made public in 2014, but Cameron said later he did not know when the report would be published.

According to British media, the report includes minutes of UK government meetings and details a phone conversation between then-US President George W. Bush and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair that took place shortly before the operation in Iraq began.

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