Roger Bacon, whose son Major Matthew Bacon was killed in 2005, said they were not proud of their government


The sister of one of the soldiers killed in the demanded that Tony Blair 'look me in the eye' as families revealed they plan to take legal action against the former prime minister, following today's long-awaited report into the conflict.

Relatives said they had not had enough time to fully take in the report by Sir John Chilcot, having had just '180 minutes, one for every death' to read it, but would be undertaking a forensic analysis of the findings, and reserved the right to take any further action necessary.

And at an emotional press conference following the report's release held by some of the relatives of the 179 Britons killed and their lawyers, Sarah O'Connor, whose brother, Sergeant Bob O'Connor died in the conflict, said Blair should 'look us in the eye', as she described him as 'the world's worst terrorist'.

Their intervention led to a humbling apology by Mr Blair, but he insisted he would still take the same decision to invade Iraq.

Mr Blair told them: 'I can look those families and the country in the eye and tell them I did not mislead them. What I cannot do, and will not do, is say that the decision was wrong. I think the world is a safer and better place because of it'.

He added: 'I express more sorrow, regret and apology than you may ever know or can believe.'

Rose Gentle, whose son Gordon, 19, was killed in Iraq holds the hand of Sarah O'Connor, whose brother Bob also died in the conflict

At an emotional press conference following the report's release held by some of the relatives and their lawyers, Ms O'Connor said Blair should 'look us in the eye', as she described him as 'the world's worst terrorist'

Bereft: Dawn Holmes, the heartbroken mother of L Cpl Sarah Holmes, who died in Iraq, cries as she clutches a picture of her child after the Chilcot report was released while Sarah O' Connor, whose brother Sergeant Bob O'Connor also died, kisses his picture

Ms O'Connor said that the release of the report had taken her back to the time when she learned her brother had been killed

A tearful Ms O'Connor, who sat next to Rose Gentle, the mother of teenage soldier Gordon who was killed at just 19, and gripped her hand tightly slammed the time it had taken for the report to be released, and said her overwhelming response was 'anger'.

'That healing that 11-and-a-half years I was working for,' said Ms O'Conner, whose brother died when his Hercules plane was shot down in 2005. 'I have gone back to that time when I learned my brother had been killed.

'There's one terrorist that the world needs to be aware of and his name's Tony Blair. The world's worst terrorist.'

Demanding that the former Prime Minister face the families, furious Ms O'Connor said: 'Look me in the eye. Why is he not here? Look at our eyes and our faces. Look me in the eye.'

She added: 'When he gave his evidence it was definitely the Tony Blair show. He thinks he's the puppet master pulling the strings.'

'The terrorists took my brother - and in that sentence of terrorists I include Mr Blair - took my brother and took my family. But you won't take me. I'm going nowhere. I'm going nowhere Blair.'

She added that she had apologised to Sir John for criticising the time he took to deliver the report: 'I thanked him for justice that he has given those names that are on the wall at the National Memorial Arboretum and all those named that aren't included on there that need to be remembered, the non-combat deaths, the civilians, the Iraqi civilians.

'And then look at how our Government treated those Iraqis that worked for us, they leave them there to rot and be killed and the wave of destruction continues.'

The mother of Lance Corporal Allan Douglas, 22, who was shot in January 2006, said the hole her son had left 'will never be filled'.

Diane Douglas, from Aberdeen, told the Evening Express newspaper: 'We didn't get proper closure.

'I think about him every day and think of things I want to say to him every day.

'That hole will never be filled. I want to see justice done for the lives that were lost.'

She added: 'I want him (Tony Blair) to admit that it was illegal for a start and to admit that he did wrong.

'I would hope to see something come out of it, I would like parents to get compensation.'

Rose Gentle, whose son Gordon died while serving in Iraq with the Royal Highland Fusiliers, said the report meant Mr Blair 'got his comeuppance today'.

Fusilier Gentle, from the Pollok area of Glasgow, was 19 when an IED exploded under his Land Rover in Basra in June 2004.

Speaking after the report was published, Mrs Gentle said she was pleased with its findings.

'I didn't think we were going to get that verdict today but I'm really pleased,' she said.

'I hope he (Blair) goes to his bed and thinks "What the hell have I done?" because he will never be forgiven.'

Relatives and friends of the servicemen and women who died in iraq outside the Queen Elizabeth II Centre

Ms O'Connor, pictured holding a photograph of herself and her brother, demanded of Blair 'look at our eyes and faces. Look me in the eye'

Victoria Jones, sister of Leading Aircraftman Martin Beard who was killed in the Iraq war, holds a copy of the Chilcot Report as she is comforted by a friend

Roger Bacon (centre left), whose son Major Matthew Bacon was killed in 2005, said 'We were proud when our husbands, sons and daughters signed up to serve our country. But we cannot be proud of the way our government has treated them'

Streams of family members, who had long pushed for the report, had filed into the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in central London shortly before 8am to be appraised of Sir John Chilcot's historic findings, hours before they were presented to the public.

Speaking after the report was released they thanked Sir John and said they were 'pleased' with the way the investigation was conducted, but Roger Bacon, whose son Major Matthew Bacon was killed in 2005, said they could not be proud of the way their loved ones were treated by the government.

He said: 'Never again must so many mistakes be allowed to lead to the sacrifice of so many British Lives, and the destruction of a country with no aim.'

'We were proud when our husbands, sons and daughters signed up to serve our country. But we cannot be proud of the way our government has treated them.

'We must use this report to make sure that all parts of the Iraq War fiasco are never repeated again. Neither in a theatre of war, nor in the theatre of Whitehall.

'We call on the British Government immediately to follow up Sir John's findings to ensure that the political process by which our country decides to go to war is never again twisted and confused with no liability for such actions.'

Relatives of military personnel killed in the Iraq war listen to the emotional press conference following the release of the report

The families thanked Sir John and said they were 'pleased' with the way the report was conducted, but added in a statement: 'Never again must so many mistakes be allowed to lead to the sacrifice of so many British Lives, and the destruction of a country with no aim'

Thanking Sir John Chilcot for the report, Mr Bacon, whose son died when a roadside bomb exploded, hitting the vehicle he was travelling in, near Basra, continued: 'It has truly been an exhausting and exhaustive process.'

Mr Bacon said it was impossible to sum up the report, as the families had only had 180 minutes - a minute for each death - to digest a seven-year project.

Mr Bacon added: 'Good government and democracy must not be trampled over, particularly with such cost to British and foreign lives.

'And to ensure that the internal politics of Whitehall from the MoD to security services to post-conflict planning are never allowed to fail so widely.

'After sufficient analysis of Chilcot's report, we reserve the right ourselves to call specific parties to answer for their actions in the courts, if such process is found to be viable.'

The families said they reserve the right to call 'specific people' to answer for their actions in court, after they have fully analysed the findings, saying: 'All options will be considered.'

The families' lawyer, Matthew Jury, said: 'The families have waited a long time for today to come. They have acted with patience, courage and dignity throughout this entire process.'

Ms O'Connor kisses her brother's dog tags as she leaves the press conference, while Valerie O'Neill, whose son Kris was killed in an IED attack in 2007, and his wife Tina hold up a copy of the report

The relatives said that the three hours they had been given to read the report was not enough to take it all in

The families outside the conference centre today. They said they needed to study the report further before deciding what to do next

He said those who were criticised in the report 'knew what was coming' and had time to prepare statements and defences.

In a statement, Mr Jury said: 'The three hours the families were given this morning is not long enough for anybody to properly take in two and a half million words, or even a 150-page summary.

'Today is a day the families should be at the forefront of everybody's minds. But so too should be the thousands of British soldiers wounded in Iraq, the tens of thousands of British veterans who served there, and the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians who died during the conflict and since.

'The families are pleased that the inquiry has discharged its duties without fear, favour or prejudice. However, they are of course saddened that it appears to have been confirmed that their loved ones died unnecessarily and without just cause or purpose.

Rose Gentle holds up a photograph of her son. He died when the Snatch Land Rover he was in was destroyed by a roadside bomb

'In the coming days and weeks, the families will undertake a full and forensic review of the report's content and conclusions.

'If state officials are determined to have acted unlawfully or in excess of their powers then the families will then decide on whether to take any necessary and appropriate action at the proper time. All options will be considered.

'Just as importantly, as well as examining the culpability of individual state officials, we must also look at the process that led to the war so that we never make such grave mistakes with such tragic long-term and far-reaching consequences again.'

In a statement given after the release of the report, Blair said he will take 'take full responsibility for any mistakes' made in Iraq but insisted it was still 'better to remove Saddam Hussein' than allow the tyrant to continue in power.

Streams of family members had filed into the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in central London shortly before 8am to be appraised of Sir John Chilcot's historic report

The former Labour prime minister said his decision to invade Iraq in 2003 to take military action against the Iraqi dictator was taken 'in good faith and in what I believed to be the best interests of the country'.

Mrs Gentle said the report meant Tony Blair 'got his comeuppance today', and that she was pleased with the findings. Fusilier Gentle, from Pollok in Glasgow, died an IED exploded under his Land Rover in Basra in June 2004.

'I didn't think we were going to get that verdict today but I'm really pleased,' Mrs Gentle said.

'I hope he (Blair) goes to his bed and thinks 'What the hell have I done?' because he will never be forgiven.

'He will be remembered not as a prime minister but as a person who sent them on an illegal war.

'I would love to see him in court.'

The parents of Alec MacLachlan from Llanelli, who served in Iraq and returned to the country as a private security guard in 2006 where he was kidnapped and killed, said it was clear from the report that Mr Blair was 'George Bush's poodle'.

As he left the QEII centre, father Peter MacLachlan said: 'The report was very factual. And it didn't hold anything back.'

He said he did not think the war was based on a lie but added 'in the future they should think of the consequences for a lot longer'.

Eddie Hancock, from Wigan, whose 19-year-old son Jamie Hancock was a kingsman with the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment when he was killed in Basra in 2006, said: 'First of all, Chilcot's report ... he's done exactly as he said he would - it wasn't a whitewash by any means. He's fulfilled the promises that he made in 2009.

'Obviously, some people will never be happy unless there's a rope there.

'But, what he has actually said is that (Tony) Blair undermined the United Nations. Now, if somebody does that, you would think that the act was illegal. He's also misled parliament, he's fabricated facts and misrepresented them.

'I hope and I would like to call on all politicians in this country that for the grievous damage this man has inflicted on this nation, on its armed forces, that he be banned from any form of public office for life. At the very least.'

'Good government and democracy must not be trampled over, particularly with such cost to British and foreign lives,' said Mr Bacon.

'And to ensure that the internal politics of Whitehall from the MoD to security services to post-conflict planning are never allowed to fail so widely.

'After sufficient analysis of Chilcot's report, we reserve the right ourselves to call specific parties to answer for their actions in the courts, if such process is found to be viable.'

Ronnie Barker, whose son, Private Lee Ellis, died in 2006, said she broke down in tears when reading the report.

Pte Ellis was 23 when he was killed by a roadside bomb along with Captain Richard John Holmes when a home-made bomb exploded under their vehicle.

Ms Barker said the report found the vehicle he was travelling in was 'not fit for purpose'.

She said: 'We went in thinking it was going to be a whitewash but I actually cried.'

Asked what she wanted to happen next, Ms Barker said she 'would like to see Tony Blair sent to court'.

Melinda Ingram, whose son Chris Dunsmore died in 2007 just days before his 30th birthday, said the report confirmed some of the evidence for going to war had been 'massaged or presented in such a way that it shouldn't have been'.

The RAF reservist, from Leicester, was just hours away from coming home on leave in 2007 but became the first reservist to be killed in action since the Second World War.

His mother said: 'He didn't have to go. He gave up one year of his life to go because he thought it was the right thing to do.'

She said the report 'isn't justice yet because it's just evidence' , before adding, 'but it is evidence that might in the future result in some justice'.

Asked what justice would look like she said: 'I don't know, because it's going to take time to find out from the report what the hard evidence is and whether there is anybody who is potentially accountable.

'If we go forward to a court case it would be interesting to see what the outcome is and I think it should be tested in the court but I don't know if that's possible.'

She added: 'A lot of the families want to take Tony Blair to court.'

Families of some of the soldiers killed in the Iraq War plan to take legal action against Tony Blair, following today's long-awaited report into the conflict. Pictured are protesters outside the former Prime Minister's home today

A demonstrator dressed as Tony Blair, with blood on his hands and carrying wads of money protests prior to the report's release

179 dead: The brave British servicemen and women who lost their lives in the Iraq War

The six-year Iraq War claimed the lives of 179 British servicemen and women before the conflict came to an end in May 2009.

According to a study of the war-torn nation, an estimated 461,000 Iraqis were also killed between March 2003 and June 2011 as a direct or indirect result of the fighting.

Here are the faces of the British men and women who died for their country:

(left to right top row) Captain Philip Guy, Naval Rating Ian Seymour, Warrant Officer 2nd Class Mark Stratford (Silhouette), Marine Sholto Hedenskog, Lance Bombardier Llywelyn Evans, Colour Sgt John Cecil, Major Jason Ward, Sergeant Les Hehir, Lt Philip Green, Lt Tony King; Lt James Williams, Lt Philip West, Lt Marc Lawrence, Lt Andrew Wilson, Flight Lt Kevin Main, Flight Lt Dave Williams (Silhouette), Sapper Luke Allsopp, Staff Sergeant Simon Cullingworth, Sergeant Steven Roberts, Lance-Corporal Barry Stephen;

(left to right second row) Corporal Stephen Allbutt, Trooper David Clarke, Lance Corporal of Horse Matty Hull, Royal Marine Christopher Maddison, Lance Corporal Shaun Brierley, Major Stephen Ballard, Staff Sergeant Chris Muir, Lance Corporal Karl Shearer, Fusilier Kelan John Turrington, Lance Corporal Ian Malone, Piper Christopher Muzvuru, Lt Alexander Tweedie, Lance Corporal James McCue, Private Andrew Kelly, Gunner Duncan Pritchard (Silhouette), Corporal David Sheppard (Silhouette), Leonard Harvey, Sergeant Simon Hamilton-Jewell, Corporal Russell Aston, Corporal Paul Graham Long;

(left to right third row) Corporal Simon Miller, Lance Corporal Benjamin McGowan Hyde, Lance Corporal Thomas Keys, Captain James Linton, Private Jason Smith (silhouette), Captain David Jones, Major Matthew Titchener, Warrant Officer Colin Wall, Corporal Dewi Pritchard, Fusilier Russell Beeston, Sergeant John Nightingale, Corporal Ian Plank, Private Ryan Thomas, Major James Stenner (Silhouette), Sergeant Norman Patterson (Silhouette), Lance Corporal Andrew Craw, Rifleman Vincent Windsor, Sapper Robert Thompson, Corporal Richard Ivell, Fusilier Gordon Gentle;

(left to right fourth row) Flight Lt Kristian Gover (Silhouette), Private Christopher Rayment, Private Lee O'Callaghan, Private Marc Ferns, Lance Corporal Paul Thomas, Fusilier Steven Jones, Corporal Marc Taylor, Gunner David Lawrence (Silhouette), Private Kevin McHale, Staff Sergeant Denise Rose, Private Paul Lowe, Sergeant Stuart Gray, Private Scott McArdle, Private Pita Tukatukawaqa (Silhouette), Sergeant Paul Connolly (Silhouette), Squadron Leader Patrick Marshall, Flight Lt David Stead, Flight Lt Andrew Smith, Flight Lt Paul Pardoel, Master Engineer Gary Nicholson;

(left to right fifth row) Chief Technician Richard Brown, Flight Sergeant Mark Gibson, Sergeant Robert O'Connor, Corporal David Williams, Acting Lance-Corporal Steven Jones, Private Mark Dobson, Guardsman Anthony Wakefield, Lance-Corporal Alan Brackenbury, Signaller Paul Didsbury, 2nd Lt Richard Shearer, Private Philip Hewett, Private Leon Spicer, Fusilier Donal Meade, Fusilier Stephen Manning, Major Matthew Bacon, Captain Ken Masters, Sergeant Chris Hickey, Sergeant John Jones, Lance Corporal Allan Douglas, Corporal Gordon Pritchard;

(left to right sixth row) Trooper Carl Smith, Captain Richard Holmes, Private Lee Ellis, Lt Richard Palmer, Flight Lt Sarah-Jane Mulvihill, Wing Commander John Coxen, Lt Commander Darren Chapham, Lt David Dobson, Marine Paul Collins, Private Joseva Lewaicei, Private Adam Morris, Lt Tom Mildinhall, Lance Corporal Paul Farrelly, Corporal John Cosby, Corporal Matthew Cornish, Gunner Samuela Vanua, Gunner Stephen Wright, Gunner Lee Thornton, Lance Corporal Dennis Brady, Lt Tom Tanswell;

(left to right seventh row) Kingsman Jamie Hancock, Staff Sergeant Sharron Elliott, Warrant Officer 2nd Class Lee Hopkins, Marine Jason Hylton, Corporal Ben Nowak, Sergeant Jonathon Hollingsworth (Silhouette), Sergeant Graham Hesketh, Sergeant Wayne Rees, Kingsman Alex Green, Private Michael Tench, 2nd Lt Jonathan Bracho-Cooke, Private Luke Daniel Simpson, Rifleman Daniel Coffey, Private Jonathon Dany Wysoczan, Kingsman Danny Wilson, Rifleman Aaron Lincoln, Corporal Kris O'Neill, Second Lieutenant Joanna Yorke Dyer, Kingsman Adam James Smith, Private Eleanor Dlugosz;

(left to right eighth row) Colour Sergeant Mark Powell, Sergeant Mark J McLaren, Corporal Ben Leaning, Trooper Kristen Turton, Kingsman Alan Joseph Jones, Rifleman Paul Donnachie, Major Nick Bateson, Private Kevin Thompson, Corporal Jeremy Brookes, Corporal Rodney Wilson, Lance Corporal James Cartwright, Major Paul Harding, Corporal John Rigby, Corporal Paul Joszko, Private Scott Kennedy, Private James Kerr, Rifleman Edward Vakabua, Lance Corporal Ryan Francis, Corporal Christopher Read, Aircraftsman Peter McFerran;