IF ever there was a waste of time and money it is this inquiry into the war in Iraq.

It all started with George Bush being told that US oil supplies and reserves were too low for comfort.

Dissident Iraqis got the ear of US Vice-President Dick Cheney and convinced him that Saddam Hussein had weapons of “mass destruction” to invade Iraq. Mr Bush needed an ally and Tony Blair, so eager to please, agreed to be his accomplice.

The rest is history and the inquiry will blame nobody and say we went to war on the basis of “false intelligence”.

This human tragedy could have been avoided if we, the British people, had stood up and said we will not go to war in Iraq under any circumstances.

We have actually been more upset about MPs’ expenses than we have been about the deaths of so many of our fine young men and countless thousands of innocent Iraqis.

Hugh Pender, Darlington.