Mother of soldier killed in 2004 says 'all this agony could be for nothing' after Gordon Brown announces investigation will be held in private

The mother of a soldier killed in Iraq reacted angrily to the revelation that the inquiry into the war will take place behind closed doors, warning "all this agony could be for nothing".

Rose Gentle, who launched a lengthy campaign against the UK's presence in Iraq after her son Gordon was killed there in 2004, said she will continue to lobby the government to fight the decision for the process to be held in private.

Gentle's son was killed in Basra after a roadside bomb was detonated while he was on patrol.

Speaking after Gordon Brown's announcement about the inquiry in the House of Commons, she said: "We have fought and fought for this but it will be no use and it could all be for nothing behind closed doors."

Gentle said "there was no reason" national security would be compromised by the inquiry being held in public. "We respect the security concerns that may arise – we are not anti-war in general. My family and most of the families who lost loved ones just want a simple answer to a simple question: why did we go in to Iraq in the first place?"

Lindsey German of the Stop the War Coalition said the inquiry would produce "another bucket of whitewash" from the government.

"Gordon Brown talks about the importance of this inquiry being carried out independently then we hear it will be compromised by a privy council who are part of the establishment. The people who voiced their displeasure before the war started, the families of the victims of this and even some of the veterans – this was not what they asked for.

"The process will exonerate politicians. It will just be another bucket of whitewash."