MEDDLING senior civil servants with ties to the Iraq war are behind “disgraceful” delays to the Chilcot report on the 2003 drive to invade, MPs heard yesterday.

Tory David Davis declared that “clues” surrounding the six-year wait pointed to a conflict between the inquiry and figures including Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood.

The framework of the £9 million probe is “wrapped up in a series of protocols which have criteria so broad that the veto on publication can virtually be applied at Whitehall’s discretion,” he warned.