Britain Thursday launched a long-awaited independent inquiry into its involvement in the Iraq war at which former prime minister Tony Blair is due to give evidence, officials said, according to dpa. The chairman of the inquiry, former senior civil servant John Chilcot, said he would "not shy away from making criticism" if mistakes were found. The inquiry, at which most of the evidence will be heard in public, is expected to cover a period of eight years, including the crucial run-up to the 2003 US-led invasion. The political decisions taken by Blair at the time are likely to come under scrutiny from the point of view of the legality of the war and the absence of a second UN resolution. The result of the inquiry is not going to be published before the next general election, which is due by June, 2010, at the latest. As Britain winds up its military presence in Iraq, the government said that two more hostages seized in Baghdad two years ago were "very likely" to be dead. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that he believed that IT consultant Peter Moore, one of a total of five men captured in July, 2007, was still alive.
