Former first minister Alex Salmond has criticised David Cameron amid reports the prime minister is to demand a publication date for the Chilcot Inquiry’s report into the Iraq war.
The Gordon MP and SNP international affairs spokesman asked why the Tory leader had not acted sooner if it was within his power to do so.
He added: “The Iraq war was a foreign policy catastrophe – the greatest and most disastrous for at least half a century. The appalling ramifications are still being felt and will be for years into the future.
“The report has been plagued by continuous delays, yet David Cameron has claimed he has been helpless during this entire process but only now says he will act. Answers are long, long overdue.
“It should be remembered that Cameron himself voted for the war in 2003. He has a moral obligation to get to the bottom of the reasons for this disastrous conflict a full 12 years later.”
According to reports, Mr Cameron told journalists he wanted a timetable on his desk, adding: “I think we deserve one pretty soon.”
However, he also insisted he could not speed up the process because of the independent nature of the inquiry, which opened in 2009 and concluded in 2011.
A Number 10 spokesman pointed to a letter the prime minister wrote to Sir John Chilcot in June calling for the report to be completed, and the reply he received which stated the next stage would be a timetable for publication.
He also said the timing was a matter for Sir John, who has previously said he is waiting for witnesses to respond to planned criticisms in the report.