It's a betrayal, say soldiers' families: Relatives of British troops killed in Iraq react angrily to news Chilcot inquiry will not publish full exchange between Blair and Bush

Inquiry chairman Sir John Chilcot will hold back leaders' 150 secret calls

Families said it 'beggared belief' that Bush and Blair can 'get away with it'

One mother whose son, 19, was killed in Iraq said 'let families see them'

Killed: The family of Lance Corporal Tom Keys, who was killed by a mob in Iraq, said it 'beggared belief' that Chilcot is withholding the 150 letters and calls discussing their plans to go to war in 2003

Families of British troops killed in Iraq reacted angrily to the news that the Chilcot inquiry will not publish the full exchanges between Tony Blair and George Bush.

They said the agreement to include only quotes or 'gists' of the messages and conversations meant they would never learn the full truth about the decision to go to war.

Reg Keys, whose 20-year-old son Lance Corporal Tom Keys was one of six Red Caps killed by a mob in Iraq in 2003, said it ‘beggared belief’ that Mr Blair and Mr Bush were being allowed to ‘get away with it’.

He said inquiry chairman Sir John Chilcot would have his hands tied by the failure to get permission to publish the classified documents in full.

Mr Keys, 62, from Solihull, West Midlands, said: 'I'm not happy with it at all. I want to know the reason why my son gave his life for his country.



'I don’t want the “gist” of it. I want the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

‘This isn’t some minor bit of legislation going through Parliament like the fox-hunting Bill.



'We need all the details that led up to the war, which was a war of option, not necessity.

‘Parliament has been misled, the general public have been misled, but worst of all those troops have been misled.

‘We need to see the full story. It is very, very important as part of closure for those who have lost loved ones.

'And there are also people who have been maimed, crippled or blinded – they may want to know why they sustained those injuries.

‘If there is nothing to hide, why hide it? If Bush is so proud of what he did, release all the documents.’

Secrets: The hold up in the publication of the Chilcot report is down to a disagreement over what can be published from the notes and conversations between George Bush and Tony Blair in the run up to the war

Rose Gentle, 50, from Glasgow, whose son Gordon Gentle, 19, was killed in Iraq in 2004, told the BBC the relatives of those who died were disappointed by the decision and now felt they would not get to the truth about why Mr Blair took Britain to war.

'Now a lot of families think: “What was the point? What is going to be the outcome? Is it just going to be covered up now?”