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Politics : The Donkey's Inn -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mephisto who wrote (6822)	6/5/2003 10:34:16 AM
From: Mephisto	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 15516

Intelligence chiefs tell Blair: no more spin, no more stunts MI5 and MI6 win assurances over spy reports " Senior officials in the security and intelligence services made it clear that the threat posed by Saddam Hussein's Iraq was not as great as ministers suggested" Richard Norton-Taylor and Michael White Thursday June 5, 2003 The Guardian MI6 and MI5 chiefs have sought the government's assurance that it will never again pass off as official intelligence information which does not come from them. They are also insisting that any information used by Downing Street claiming to be based on intelligence should be cleared by them first. Their demands, which the government has bowed to, reflect deep unease in the intelligence community about the government's attempt to use secret information to push its case for military action against Iraq. Senior officials in the security and intelligence services made it clear that the threat posed by Saddam Hussein's Iraq was not as great as ministers suggested. Their insistence that intelligence must not be abused for political ends was prompted in particular by a second dossier published in February containing some material supplied by MI6 but mixed with other information lifted from academic sources. That, intelligence sources say, was a "serious error". They were already concerned about pressure from ministers to find information that backed up the US claim - not supported by British intelligence - that al-Qaida was linked to Baghdad. Their fire is directed at the Downing Street communications staff under Alastair Campbell, rather than at Tony Blair. "There were anxieties about the casual use of intelligence," a well-placed source said yesterday. "It must not be doctored," he added. The tension between the government and MI5 and MI6 was exacerbated yesterday by the comment by John Reid, the leader of the Commons, that "rogue elements" in the intelligence services were briefing against Downing Street: a resonant charge in Labour's history. In a bruising encounter on Radio 4's Today he spoke of "such obviously rogue isolated individuals". On GMTV he said the "hugely serious" accusation against ministers and intelligence chiefs "comes down to, apparently, one or two unnamed, unappointed, anonymous people with uncorroborated evidence." Mr Blair himself did not disown the charge, but did not repeat it either, adding to the impression that Dr Reid had over-egged his complaint. Criticism in the intelligence community of the government's handling of its information from the first dossier from Downing Street - published with a fanfare in September and the one at the heart of the current row - was more nuanced, sources say. The joint intelligence committee was worried about protecting sources as pressure grew from Downing Street for the committee to come up with more and more intelligence-based information to bolster its case. Last night Whitehall defended its much-disputed claim of an Iraqi capacity to fire chemical or biological warheads within 45 minutes by revealing that its source had been a senior Iraqi officer "with a record of providing reliable data over years". He was the only source. Well-placed officials admit they could not find corrborative evidence. John Scarlett, chairman of the committee, praised yesterday by Mr Blair in the Commons, admits to having a "debate" with Downing Street about what to include in the September dossier. That may be a discreet euphemism, but he is also letting it be known that he insists there was no "bust up" with Mr Campbell. He takes the view that how Mr Blair and other ministers chose to use the dossier was up to them. Amid the private rumblings from the intelligence services, Mr Blair was under further political pressure last night to restore his battered credibility by giving evidence in person, and in public, when MPs and peers begin two urgent investigations into the handling of intelligence material on Iraq's illegal weapons arsenal. He promised to provide all the raw intelligence material to the cross-party intelligence and security committee (ISC) - and to publish its report. Mr Blair's unprecedented concession failed to appease Labour and Conservative critics, joined by angry Liberal Democrats and Nationalists, despite a bravura 90-minute performance at the dispatch box in which he denied all the allegations and praised the intelligence services in extravagant terms. Labour loyalists had been rallied by John Prescott. "This is about the integrity of the party, the prime minister does not lie," he said. As a result only 11 Labour rebels went all the way and voted for a Lib Dem call for a full public inquiry last night. With abstentions and absentees, the government's 165-vote majority fell to 98. guardian.co.uk