Families of soldiers who were killed in Iraq gathered for a meeting with Sir John Chilcot at a London hotel to express their indignation towards Tony Blair’s decision for British troops to invade the war-torn country. Sir John and his panel faced a group who were firm in their stance on the war as illegal and for someone to be held responsible for the death of their loved ones.
“I hold Tony Blair personally responsible for the death of my son. There’s a lot of anger here, and I would like Tony Blair to be indicted as a war criminal,” said Deirde Gover, the mother of Flight Lt. Kristian Gover of the RAF’s 33 Squadron. Her son was killed when his Puma helicopter accidentally crashed in a southern Iraq airport.
“I’d like someone to apportion blame for what happened in Iraq. Tony Blair lied to his Cabinet, he lied to the Government, he lied to the country. He deceived the country about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction because he had an agenda with [President] George Bush,” she added.
At last week’s Iraq memorial service, the 63-year-old Gover approached Blair and blamed him for her son’s death. “He replied, ‘Let’s discuss this’. I couldn’t talk to him. He said, ‘What about Saddam Hussein’, and I thought, ‘What about Robert Mugabe?’,” she said.
Chilcot explained to Gover and the rest of the families that they are not a court of law but will refer the matter to an attorney.
Retired Lieutenant-Colonel Tom Mildinhall, whose son, Lieutenant Colin Mildinhall was killed in a roadside bomb, said that he would like to understand the strategy used to approach the war in Iraq.
“I believe this country has been badly let down and been lied to. I would like to see some accountability,” Colonel Mildinhall said.
The London hotel meeting is the first of the series of meetings which will be held this month across Britain. Sessions will also take place in Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol and Belfast.
