CRITICISMS contained in the Chilcot Inquiry report into the Iraq War look set to spread well beyond Tony Blair and his former inner ministerial circle, sources close to the investigation have suggested.

It is thought while the former Prime Minister will take most of the blame for Britain’s part in the controversial invasion of Iraq in 2003, other senior ministers and officials around him at the time will also be heavily criticised.

It has already been suggested that Sir Nicholas Houghton, Chief of the Defence Staff, who served in a position of authority in Iraq following the invasion, from 2005 to 2009, will face criticism in Sir John’s report. But others said to be in the firing line are believed to include Jack Straw, the former Foreign Secretary; Geoff Hoon, the ex-Defence Secretary; Clare Short, the then International Development Secretary; Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of MI6, and Sir John Scarlett, who chaired the Joint Intelligence Committee, as well as senior officials from the Foreign Office, the Ministry of Defence and the Cabinet Office.

The six-year inquiry, which has cost the taxpayer £10 million, took evidence from some 150 people. Several are believed to have hired lawyers to argue their cases and protect their reputations.

This week, Lord Savile, who chaired Britain’s longest-running public probe, the Bloody Sunday inquiry, which lasted 12 years, warned that the Iraq inquiry risked becoming “never-ending”.

He also claimed that letting those who were due to be criticised in the Chilcot report see details before publication – so-called Maxwellisation - was a "very bad idea".

He pointed out: "The only legal requirement is that people must be given an opportunity to answer the criticisms."

Earlier this week, No 10 again expressed David Cameron’s frustration at the length the Chilcot inquiry was taking to publish its findings, noting how, in particular, it had been an ordeal for the families of those killed in the conflict.

Conservative backbencher David Davis, the former Shadow Home Secretary, has said a cross-party group of MPs will hold discussions next week to draw up a battle-plan for forcing the inquiry to set a deadline for publication.

Jeremy Corbyn, the frontrunner in the race to become the next Labour leader, has pre-empted the Chilcot findings, saying he would apologise for the Labour Government’s decision 12 years ago to go to war in Iraq.