British officials ‘ignored concerns over dossier claims’

SENIOR officials responsible for compiling the British government’s dossier on Iraqi weapons ignored concerns among the intelligence analysts about key claims in the document, the Hutton Inquiry was told yesterday.

The inquiry heard the "shutters came down" on the dossier before reservations among intelligence officials had a chance to be properly considered. In what was said to be a highly unusual move, the inquiry heard evidence that the Joint Intelligence Committee the senior body responsible for the dossier - did not even meet to discuss the final version.

The inquiry also heard how officials in the Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS) the intelligence arm of the Ministry of Defence had expressed resentment at what they saw as "political interference" in their work from Government "spin merchants".

The inquiry was set up to investigate how Government weapons expert David Kelly apparently came to take his own life after being identified as the source of a BBC story claiming the dossier had been "sexed up" to strengthen the case for war.

Brian Jones, a senior DIS scientist who headed a section looking at nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, said his staff had been "concerned and unhappy" at the way their intelligence had been used in the dossier. A series of reservations and proposed amendments were discussed at a departmental meeting on September 19, which Dr Kelly had attended.

Dr Jones, now retired, said normally such issues would be raised at the JIC which includes the heads of all the intelligence agencies - but that did not happen this time. Following its regular weekly meeting on September 18, Dr Jones said he did not believe there was another full JIC meeting until after the dossier was published on September 24. "The impression I had was that on September 19 the shutters were coming down on this particular paper. The discussion and the argument had been concluded. It was an impression I had at the time that our reservations about the dossier were not being reflected in the final version."