British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair was yesterday facing mounting pressure over the Iraqi dossiers affair, after he was accused of making a "fundamental mistake" in declaring that Saddam Hussein could deploy weapons of mass destruction in 45 minutes.
Dr Hans Blix, the former United Nations chief weapons inspector, described the claim, included in the UK government's September dossier, as "highly unlikely".
"I think that was a fundamental mistake. I don't know exactly how they calculated this figure of 45 minutes in the dossier of September last year.
"That seems pretty far off the mark to me," Dr Blix told the Independent on Sunday newspaper.
Asked if Mr Blair had relied on flawed intelligence or misinterpreted it, he replied: "They over-interpreted the intelligence they had." Downing Street declined to be drawn on Dr Blix's remarks, only reiterating No 10 stood by the September dossier.
Downing Street also sought to play down suggestions that the British and US governments were at loggerheads over a crucial intelligence issue relating to Iraq.
Suggestions of a row between the CIA and Britain's MI6 were an embarrassment for Mr Blair ahead of his Thursday trip to Washington for talks with President Bush.
While admitting that the CIA raised concerns about a link between Saddam Hussein's regime and an attempt to buy uranium from Niger, the Foreign Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, defended the decision to include the claim in the September dossier.
He insisted that the claim was based on separate, reliable intelligence that Britain had not shared with the US.
Downing Street said the British judgment was based on reports from foreign intelligence agencies, which it was not in a position to give to the Americans.
The former Leader of the Commons and one-time Foreign Secretary, Mr Robin Cook, who quit the Cabinet over Iraq, said he did not accept the explanation.
Mr Cook said: "It is time that the government came clean and published the extra evidence they claim proves there was a uranium deal."
In a letter to Mr Donald Anderson, chairman of the House of Commons foreign affairs select committee, Mr Straw said: "The media have reported that the CIA expressed reservations to us about this element of the September dossier. This is correct. However, the US comment was unsupported by explanation and UK officials were confident that the dossier's statement was based on reliable intelligence which we had not shared with the US (for good reasons, which I have given your committee in private session). A judgment was therefore made to retain it." - (Reuters)