Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven (Fox) is a mish-mash of an epic that falls well short of the standard set by such as the illustrious El Cid and Ben-Hur.

The area around Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit, a hotbed of resistance since he was ousted by US-led coalition forces, was always an obvious retreat for the fallen dictator.

Saddam Hussein’s shadow has finally been lifted from the country he ruled with an iron grip for over 20 years.

Director Ridley Scott, whose location film work has poured millions of pounds into Morocco, is being honoured at the Morocco film festival next month with the country’s highest award.

By Jim Caldwell

Disclosures about alleged links between Iraq and the al-Qaida terror group have so far been viewed with some scepticism, and been seen as part of an attempt to win over public opinion in the build-up to military action.