Sir John Chilcot has delivered the findings of his inquiry into the 2003 Iraq War. The report has taken seven years to be released and the final text contains 2.6 million words.

During his statement, Chilcot announced that his findings revealed that British forces had been committed to the invasion of Iraq "before peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted".

More about the Chilcot report

It also noted that military action was not the "last resort" at the time and that former Prime Minister Tony Blair's argument for going to war was based on "flawed intelligence" that was "not challenged" but "should have been".

Chilcot has been trending nationwide for hours, as thousands of people take to Twitter to react to the long-awaited findings. Ahead of the report being released, the hashtag #ChilcotLastLine was trending as many took to social media to come up with creative guesses as to what the last line of the Chilcot report might be.

Most of the responses were humorous, but the mood on social media changed once the report was released. Following Chilcot's statement, many were quick to comment on the damning inquiry evidence.

IBTimes UK rounds up reactions from politicians and the general public in the hours after the Chilcot report was released. Alex Salmond, Nicola Sturgeon, Caroline Lucas and George Galloway are among those airing their views.

Politicians react...

The public reacts...

Light-hearted reactions...

Alex Salmond