4.4 | The
search for WMD
259.
In response to
a question from Ms Oona King (Labour) about the
“strong
presumption”
of the UN inspectors that Saddam Hussein had not destroyed
biological
and
chemical agents and his view of the allegations that the threat had
been
exaggerated,
Mr Blair replied:
“… that it
was accepted by the entire international community, and not least
by
the UN
Security Council, that Saddam Hussein did indeed have weapons of
mass
destruction
and was a threat to the world … [T]he Iraq Survey Group … is
literally
now just
beginning its work, because the priority after the conflict was to
rebuild Iraq
and to make
sure that the humanitarian concerns of the Iraqi people were
achieved.”
“Perhaps I
can now take this opportunity to inform the House that the
Intelligence
and
Security Committee … contacted the Government in early May to
conduct an
inquiry
into the role of intelligence in Iraq. I welcome this and I can
assure the House
that the
Government will co-operate fully with it.”
261.
Asked by
Mr Iain Duncan Smith, the Leader of the Opposition, about
remarks
made by Dr
John Reid, the Leader of the House, during an interview on
the BBC’s
Today
programme,
that “rogue elements within the intelligence services are
undermining
the
Government and their numbers are growing”, Mr Blair
replied:
“It is
obvious from what the Today
programme
has said – if that source is to
be believed
– that of course there was somebody from within the
intelligence
community
who spoke to the media. But I want to say that the security
services and
intelligence
services do a superb job …”
262.
Asked how
senior he thought the people making the allegations were
and
how many of
them there were, Mr Blair told Mr Duncan Smith that the
source was
anonymous,
but he:
“… did not
believe that the person who is talking is a member of the
Joint
Intelligence
Committee and … I have spoken and conferred with the Chairman of
the
… Committee
– that there was no attempt, at any time, by any official, or
Minister,
or member
of No.10 Downing Street staff, to override the intelligence
judgements of
the Joint
Intelligence Committee. That includes the judgement about the
so-called
45 minutes
[see Section 4.2]. It was a judgement made by the Joint
Intelligence
Committee
and by that committee alone.”
263.
Referring
again to the allegations made by Dr Reid, and allegations from
others
that
Mr Blair had “misled Parliament and the country”,
Mr Duncan Smith asked
Mr Blair
to publish “the dossier given to him by the JIC before the one that
he published
in
September”.
475