THE sense of national impatience over the publication of the Iraq Inquiry report is entirely understandable.

In the 12 years which have passed since Tony Blair took Britain to war in partnership with George Bush, the questions have grown louder and the doubts have become deeper to the point at which the invasion is now seen by many as a foreign policy disaster.

It is, therefore, no surprise that today's announcement that the report will not be published until after the General Election in May has been met with such derision.

It is a sad fact of modern life that people generally don't trust politicians. They are suspicious of their motives. It is, therefore, inevitable that a further delay in the publication of the report into the Iraq war will be viewed with widespread cynicism and claims of a stitch-up.

Taking a country to war is the biggest decision a political leader can take and we need to know the truth about the foundations upon which that call was made, in our name, by the then MP for Sedgefield.

Indeed, it is in Mr Blair's interests that we have clarity after years of mounting criticism so it is surely cynicism too far to believe that he is somehow pulling the strings behind the latest delay.

What we do believe is that this report is already way overdue, and that its publication date should have nothing to do with the timing of an election. The report should be published as soon as it has been completed and without political interference.

More than anyone else, the families who lost loved ones in the Iraq conflict need closure. The war was conducted in our name and with our money – but it is those families who paid by far the biggest price.

The clock cannot be turned back but lessons need to be learned ahead of decisions which will sadly, but surely, face future leaders about whether it is right to send British troops to war.