Academics make up the bulk of the eight-strong Davids commission which is to investigate the Dutch government’s support for the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Headed by former high court judge Willibrord Davids, the commission includes lawyer and historian Cees Fasseur and the director of the Dutch Institute for War Documentation Marjan Schwegman.
Its first meeting is scheduled for early March and prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende, who bowed to increasing political pressure in setting it up, expects it to publish its report in November.
However Davids says he cannot guarantee the publication date, pointing out that both parliamentary houses may continue to ask questions during the investigation which must be considered by the commission.