Chilcot Inquiry: The Scottish impact of the Iraq war

the probe in to the invasion will finally be published after more than six years of waiting for the families of soldiers killed in the conflict

Published 6th Jul 2016

The long-awaited Chilcot Inquiry in to the Iraq war is finally being published 7 years after it was set up.

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for the probe in June 2009, after British troops were withdrawn from the country.

Sir John Chilcot said at the launch of the Inquiry on 30 July 2009, the purpose is to examine the United Kingdom's involvement in Iraq, including the way decisions were made and actions taken, to establish as accurately and reliably as possible what happened, and to identify lessons that can be learned.

It will look at the period from 2001 up to the end of July 2009.

Out of the 179 British soldiers who were killed in the conflict, 18 of them were from Scotland.

Fusilier Gordon Gentle from Pollok, Glasgow died aged 19 on the 28th of June 2004. He served with 1st Battalion Royal Highland Fusiliers and was killed by a roadside bomb in Basra while on patrol in a Land Rover.

His mother Rose Gentle, has campaigned for justice for her son claiming the then Prime Minister Tony Blair knew there was no evidence of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

She welcomes the inquiry but as she tells our Reporter Linda Sinclair, believes it will be a whitewash.


Lance Corporal Allan Douglas from Aberdeen was just 22 when he died on the 30th of January 2006. He served with the Highlanders, 1st Battalion, in the 7th Armoured Brigade.

He died after after coming under fire in the Maysan area while on a routine patrol.

HIs mum Diane says she's lost confidence in the enquiry as it's taken so long to get to this stage:


Lance Corporal Andrew Craw from Tullibody, Alloa, Clackmannanshire died aged 21 after he accidentally shot himself in the head while trying to unblock his weapon on the 7th of January 2004. He served with 1st Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Lance Corporal Andrew Craw accidentally shot himself in the head while trying to unblock his weapon.


Fusilier Russell Beeston, who served with the Territorial Army, 52nd Lowland Regiment, died aged 26 on the 27th of August 2003.

He was from Govan in Glasgow and was killed after a crowd surrounded his patrol vehicle in southern Iraq and opened fire with guns and rocket-propelled grenades.


Private Marc Ferns from Glenrothes in Fife was 21 when he died on the 12th of August 2004. He served with 1st Battalion The Black Watch. It was Private Ferns' second tour of duty when he lost his life after a roadside bomb attack.


Guardsman Stephen Ferguson from Lanarkshire was 31 when he died on the 13th of December 2007. He served with 1st Battalion Scots Guards and lost his life after his Warrior vehicle slid into a canal.


Sergeant Stuart Gray from Dunfermline in Fife died aged 31 on 4th November 2004. He served with the 1st Battalion The Black Watch and was one of three soldiers killed in a suicide car-bomb attack on a vehicle check-point near Falluja.


Private Scott Kennedy from Dunfermline died aged 20 on the 28th of June 2007. He served with The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland. He was one of three soldiers killed by a roadside bomb when they left their Warrior armoured vehicle.


Private James Kerr from Cowdenbeath, Fife was 20 when he died on 28th June 2007. He served with The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland. He was one of three soldiers killed by a roadside bomb when they left their Warrior armoured vehicle.


Private Paul Lowe from Dunfermline, Fife died aged 19 on the 4th of November 2004. He served with the 1st Battalion The Black Watch. He was one of three soldiers killed in a suicide car-bomb attack on a vehicle check-point near Falluja.


Private Scott McArdle from Glenrothes, Fife died aged 22 on the 4th November 2004. He served with 1st Battalion The Black Watch and was one of three soldiers killed in a suicide car-bomb attack on a vehicle check-point near Falluja.

*** Lance Corporal James McCue from Paisley, Renfrewshire died aged 27 on 30th April 2003. He served with 7 Air Assault Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. He was writing a letter home when a shell landed nearby. He bled to death from shrapnel wounds.

*** Private Kevin McHale from Lochgelly, Fife died aged 27 on the 29th of October 2004. He served with the 1st Battalion The Black Watch. He was killed when the Warrior armoured vehicle he was driving overturned near to Baghdad.

Three other soldiers suffered minor injuries in the accident, which occurred when a bridge collapsed as the vehicle was crossing.


Corporal Gordon Pritchard from Edinburgh died aged 31 on 31 January 2006. He served with the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and was the 100th UK soldier to die in Iraq. He was killed when his Snatch Land Rover was hit by explosion in Umm Qasr. Cpl Pritchard, who was married with children, was commanding the lead Land Rover in a three-vehicle convoy when it was hit by the blast.


Corporal David Shepherd from Creetown, Dumfries and Galloway died aged 34 on 19th May 2003 and served with RAF Police. It is believed he died from natural causes in Kuwait.


Lance Corporal Barry Stephen from Scone, Perthshire was 31 when he died on the 24th March 2003. He served with the 1st Battalion The Black Watch. He braved a hail of bullets to reach a machine gun in a bid to save his comrades pinned down in their armoured vehicle. He was the first Scottish soldier to be killed in Iraq. His mortar platoon section was ambushed on the outskirts of Az Zubayr.

*** Sapper Robert Thomson from Bathgate, West Lothian was aged 22 when he died on the 31st January 2004. He served with 35 Engineer Regiment Royal Engineers and was killed in Basra after what army officials described as a "tragic accident" when a trench collapsed and he was buried under the soil.

*** Lieutenant Alexander Tweedie from Hawick, Borders was aged 25 when he died on the 22nd April 2003. He served with The Blues and Royals, D Squadron Household Cavalry.

He was seriously injured when his Scimitar vehicle overturned in a canal after sliding down a bank while on operations in southernm Iraq.

He was flown back to Edinburgh Royal infirmary for treatment, but died three weeks later.