4.2 |
Iraq WMD assessments, July to September 2002
•
Sir Richard
was reported to have “summarised the report”, stating:
“Production
closed down
but sufficient stocks already.”
•
Mr Scarlett
agreed that the report would not be fed into “today’s discussion
[of
the draft
dossier]”. He was: “Not happy with draft. Section 6 & 7 are
keys.”198
409.
A letter from
Sir Richard Dearlove’s Private Secretary to Sir David
Manning,
with two
copies of the report (one for Sir David and one for Mr Powell)
recorded
that Sir
Richard had “referred” to the report during his meeting with Sir
David on
410.
Sir Richard
Dearlove told the Butler Review that he had been aware of the
report
and had
mentioned it to Sir David Manning at a meeting on 10
September.200
He
had
subsequently
arranged for the report to be sent to No.10.
411.
SIS issued the
new intelligence report on 11 September.201
412.
The report
stated that, in early September, a senior official who had a
background
of
involvement in Iraq’s CW programme described a particular military
establishment’s
participation
in BW and CW programmes, including:
•
“The regime
had demanded accelerated production of BCW substances.
Senior
workers
were working a seven day week and safety measures, which
were
common in
the 1980s, were now being ignored …”
•
“Although
BW and CW production is centred on Baghdad, the regime has
built
further
facilities throughout Iraq. There was now excess capacity, with
more
production
facilities than there were suitably qualified and trusted staff to
operate
them.”
•
Chlorine
gas produced at the facility was “shipped to ‘Iraq Atomic
Energy’”.
•
“…
[A]nthrax was being produced at a separate facility …”
•
“Approximately
two weeks ago, an order was received to stop producing
prohibited
substances at … [the establishment]. All machinery producing
these
substances
was to be decontaminated and the remaining prohibited
substances
sent to
storage. The same order had been sent to all MIC [Military
Industrial
Commission]
factories involved in producing BCW in Iraq.”
198
Note [PS/C
transcription in September 2003 of handwritten notes], 11 September
2002, [telephone
conversation
between Sir Richard Dearlove and Sir John Scarlett].
199
Letter PS/C
to Manning, 11 September 2002.
200
Review of
Intelligence on Weapons of Mass Destruction [“The
Butler Report”], 14 July 2004, HC 898,
paragraph
578.
201
Report
[SIS], 11 September 2002, ‘Iraq: Accelerated production of Chemical
and Biological Warfare
(BCW)
Substances throughout Iraq suspended end of August’.
191