The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
to provide
support, as appropriate, to the ISG as it develops, but this must
not be
detrimental
to the overall FP [force protection] posture adopted.”
Those
instructions remained largely unchanged when the Directive was
revised in
429.
Mr Scarlett
told Mr Straw’s Private Office on 24 July about a US
request for
the current
UK assessment of the possible BW trailers to be provided to the
Senate
Intelligence
Committee.227
The
assessment would not be made public.
430.
Mr Scarlett
attached a one-page draft assessment for Mr Straw’s approval,
cleared
with DIS
and SIS, which stated:
“With the
information currently available we are not able to judge that these
trailers
are the
transportable BW production system (TPS) described in
intelligence.
…
“The
assessment of an independent UK analyst is that these trailers have
the
potential,
with a minor modification (addition of flexible tube), to carry out
biological
production
…
…
“Confirmation
of the exact purpose of the trailers will require further
documentary
exploitation,
chemical/biological analysis and reporting from personalities
associated
with the
mobile programmes in Iraq …
“Any final
decision on the purpose of the trailers would currently be
premature.”
431.
On
29 July, Mr Scarlett informed Mr Straw’s Private
Office that a difference of
analysis
about the trailers had arisen within the US intelligence
community.228
Mr Scarlett
reported
that he had told the CIA the UK would not submit its own assessment
for
presentation
to the Senate, pending a review of the revised position taken by
another
part of the
US intelligence community.
432.
During their
conversation on Iraq on 31July, Mr Blair and President Bush
discussed
Dr Kay’s
progress.229
Most
resources were allocated to Iraq’s BW programme. They
226
‘Chief of
the Defence Staff Directive to the Joint Commander for Operation
TELIC (Edition 3)’,
19 December
2003.
227
Minute
Scarlett to PS/Foreign Secretary, 24 July 2003, ‘Iraq –
Submission to Senate Intelligence
Committee
Enquiry’ attaching Paper [unattributed], 24 July 2003, ‘UK
Assessment of Possible
Transportable
Biological Agent Production System’.
228
Minute
Scarlett to APS/Foreign Secretary, 29 July 2003, ‘Iraq:
Submission to Senate Intelligence
Committee
Inquiry’.
229
Letter
Rycroft to Adams, 31 July 2003, ‘Iraq: Prime Minister’s
Conversation with Bush, 31 July’.
510