Iraq inquiry delayed for another year When the Inquiry began in 2009, it had been expected to publish its findings by the end of 2011, but yesterday Sir John Chilcot, the Inquiry chairman, wrote to David Cameron to alert him to the latest delay. So far the Inquiry has cost £6.1 million, and the extra year of information-gathering is expected to cost the public purse around £1.4m more. In total, the Inquiry heard from more than 150 witnesses, but it is still going through the process of persuading the Government to declassify "a significant volume of currently classified material." A spokesman for the Inquiry said in a statement: "Pulling together and analysing the evidence and identifying the lessons, for a report that covers so wide and complex a range of issues and a time period of some nine years, is a significant task. Very considerable progress has already been made, but there is still much to be done. As well as drafting the report, the Inquiry is negotiating with the Government the declassification of a significant volume of currently classified material, in order that it may be quoted in, or published alongside, the Inquiry's report. Significant progress has been made, but there will continue to be a series of further requests as drafting progresses. The statement said Sir John intended to start writing to people who were set to be criticised by the middle of 2013. The final report is likely to be more than a million words long - the equivalent of ten average-length novels. The five-strong panel began work in 2009, and held its last public hearing in February last year. Last November, it said it needed extra time to "do justice to the issue involved" and suggested at the time that conclusions could be delivered to the Prime Minister this summer.