Sir John Chilcot who was an active member of the Kenova Governance Board and supporter of the investigation since its inception has died, aged 82.
Sir John, who was well known for his highly regarded inquiry into the Iraq war, died of kidney disease on Sunday, 3 October.
Kenova lead, former Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said: "Sir John has been a great supporter of Kenova and provided wise counsel to me throughout the last five years and will be greatly missed, not just in his role on the Governance Board but very much on a personal level too.
"He was a humble man of great integrity who had a strong sense of public service. I spoke with him on many occasions about the complexities and obstacles that are inevitably encountered when conducting an investigation involving Northern Ireland legacy cases on the scale of Kenova whereby huge complexities and entrenched positions are at play. Firstly he always answered my call for help and secondly he repeatedly provided the most thoughtful, measured and insightful of solutions based on a career of dealing with the wickedest of challenges.
"It strikes me that we very much need the like of John Chilcot in the corridors of power today with his gentle manner yet uncompromising values. He will be sorely missed."
Sir John was educated at Brighton College and Pembroke College, Cambridge (Open Scholar, Hon Fellow). After six years in academia, he moved to Whitehall, serving in the Home Office, the Civil Service Department, the Cabinet Office and finally the Northern Ireland Office as Permanent Under-Secretary of State from 1990 to the end of 1997. He was appointed by the Prime Minister as Staff Counsellor (ethics adviser) to the Security and Intelligence Agencies, 1999-2004. He served on, or led, a number of independent public inquiries including the 1998 Jenkins Commission on the voting system for the House of Commons, the 2004 Butler Committee on the intelligence on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, Royal and VIP Security, the use of intercept intelligence in criminal trials 2007-9, and finally chaired the Iraq War Inquiry (2009-2016).
Chairman, later President, of the Police Foundation think tank 2001-16, he was also appointed to the Privy Council in 2004, member of the Awards Council of the Royal Anniversary Trust, 2003-16, and elected an Honorary Fellow of the British Academy in 2019.