The British parliamentary committee that oversees the UK's intelligence agencies said Thursday it was "disturbed" that Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon did not give full details of concerns among intelligence staff about a crucial September 2002 dossier on Iraq and weapons of mass destruction.
In a report, the Intelligence and Security Committee said the initial failure by the Ministry of Defence to disclose concerns among defence intelligence staff was "unhelpful and potentially misleading", AFP reported.
The controversial September 2002 British government dossier on Iraq and weapons of mass destruction was "not 'sexed up'" as alleged in a May BBC report, the parliamentary committee said.
The dossier, a central part of Prime Minister Tony Blair's efforts to build public support in the UK for a US-led war against Iraq, notably claimed that Baghdad could deploy chemical or biological weapons in just 45 minutes. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
