Sir John Chilcot’s review into the Iraq War will finally be published next summer, having dragged on for longer than the war itself.

Massive delays to the inquiry – which has already cost £10million – had left troops’ grieving families fearing they would never learn the truth about the six-year conflict.

In response David Cameron has told Sir John he is ‘disappointed’ that his report will not be published until next summer and urged him to ‘expedite’ the final stages.

Sir John announced in a letter to Mr Cameron today that the report into the run-up to the Iraq war which cost 179 British lives, would be published by the end of July 2016.

Running to two million words, it will be completed in April and released up to three months later after a team of officials have carried out national security checking.

Sir John wrote in a letter published on the Iraq Inquiry website today: ‘We will complete that work as swiftly as possible. I consider that once National Security checking has been completed it should be possible to agree with you a date for publication in June or July 2016.