4.4 | The
search for WMD
501.
The classified
version of the ISG Interim Report was received in London
on
30 September.
502.
Before Dr Kay
delivered his unclassified testimony to Congress on
2 October,
Mr Rycroft
sent an advance copy of the text to Mr Blair at the Labour
Party Conference
in
Bournemouth. Mr Rycroft commented:
“There is
better than expected detail in this, particularly on
missiles, nuclear
+
BW.
Even the CW
section is not bad. And the Report makes clear the interim nature,
+
the
difficulties of the WMD search”.278
503.
Mr Rycroft
asked for urgent comments from the FCO, the MOD and the
Cabinet
Office on a
draft core script for use by the Government in response to Dr
Kay’s
testimony.279
The draft
stated:
“The ISG
have discovered dozens of WMD-related programme activities in
breach of
UNSCRs and
significant amounts of equipment in Iraq concealed from the
UN.
“Six things
in the ISG Report:
•
There was a
clandestine network of laboratories and safe houses within
the
Iraqi
Intelligence Service that contained equipment subject to UN
monitoring
and
suitable for continuing CBW research. None of these were
declared.
•
They have
found a prison laboratory complex, possibly used in
human
testing of
BW agents, which Iraqi officials were explicitly told not to
declare
to UN
inspectors.
•
A vial of a
strain from which botulinum can be produced was hidden in
the
home of an
Iraqi scientist, along with … other vials. The same
scientist
says he was
asked to hide a further large cache of agents and
refused.
That cache
is still missing. NB it takes just 1-10 nanograms of botulinum
to
kill an
adult.
•
… [T]here
was R and D work that paired overt work with surrogates
for
prohibited
agents, such as anthrax and
ricin. NB it
takes just 1-7 micrograms
of ricin to
kill an adult. These are consistent with a BW programme ready
for
surge
production.
•
Iraqi
scientists and senior government officials have told the ISG
that
Saddam
remained firmly committed to acquiring nuclear weapons, and
that
he would
have resumed nuclear weapons development as soon as the
West
relaxed …
Nuclear work had restarted under Dr Said.
•
It is clear
that Saddam ordered the development of ballistic missiles with
a
range up to
1,000km … SCUD fuel production continued until at least
2001.
278
Manuscript
comment Rycroft to Prime Minister, 2 October 2003 on Minute
[unattributed], [undated],
‘To all
recipients of the unclassified version of David Kay’s
testimony’.
279
Manuscript
comment Rycroft, 2 October 2003 on Paper [unattributed],
[undated], ‘ISG Report’.
525