War widow Kellie Merritt will make a personal appearance in Canberra to renew her criticism of the Iraq war in which her husband was killed and to support calls for an inquiry into John Howard’s decision to commit Australia to that conflict.

Her  husband, Flight Lieutenant Paul Pardoel, was killed in the crash of a Royal Air Force Hercules in Iraq in 2005 and is buried at Woden cemetery.

“This talk will be the first time that I’ve spoken personally and publicly in the context of bringing about an Iraq inquiry,” Ms Merritt said on Sunday.

“It’s a bit of …