LONDON (AP) — The British government says a long-delayed report into the U.K.'s involvement in the Iraq war won't be published before the summer, seven years after the inquiry began.

Cabinet Office Minister John Penrose told lawmakers Thursday that the report by retired civil servant John Chilcot would be sent to the government next week for security checks.

That process will take two weeks or less, but Penrose said more time would be needed to prepare the 2 million-word report for publication, likely in June or July.

The inquiry into mistakes made before and after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq held public hearings between 2009 and 2011, but its report has been repeatedly delayed.

Families of troops killed in Iraq say the delays are prolonging their grief.