No evidence Saddam has decided to disarm, says Blix

IRAQ has stepped up efforts to clarify outstanding issues about its weapons programmes, but there is still no evidence that Saddam Hussein has decided to disarm, chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix said last night.

He said a number of letters from Iraq about two R-400 aerial bombs, one which may be filled with a biological agent, and another reporting that hand-written documents on the 1991 disposal of chemical and biological weapons had been found "are potentially interesting" and will have to be examined.

However, Mr Blix said the letters did not represent "full co-operation or a breakthrough."