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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: E who wrote (514031)	12/21/2003 4:19:19 PM
From: Skywatcher	Respond to of 769667

Blair's weapons claim sparks fresh 'spin' row Julia Day Wednesday December 17, 2003 The row over government spin was today reignited when Tony Blair was accused of exaggerating the findings of investigators looking for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The shadow foreign secretary, Michael Ancram, said comments made by the prime minister in an interview last night recalled the row over the alleged "sexing up" of a controversial dossier on Iraqi weapons before the war. Mr Blair told the British Forces Broadcasting Service that the Iraq Survey Group had found "evidence of a massive clandestine laboratory network system". But Mr Ancram said Mr Blair's comments were not justified by the ISG's report of its interim findings, released earlier this year. He accused Mr Blair of trying to use "spin" to give an impression that the hunt for weapons had been successful. Downing Street last night confirmed that the prime minister had been referring to the ISG's report, and not to any new information that had come to light since its publication. Mr Ancram told BBC Radio 4's Today programme - which initially broadcast allegations that Mr Blair had "sexed up" the WMD dossier - that the prime minister's comments were "extraordinary". "I don't think on your programme it is possibly right to use the words 'sexing up', but once again it is the prime minister using language and playing fast and loose with language on a matter which is very important and he must be very careful with what he says," he said. "I went and looked up what the ISG actually said, and what it actually said was that a clandestine network of laboratories and safe houses had been found, suitable for continuing chemical and biological weapons research. "There was nothing about 'massive' and certainly nothing giving the indication that was given yesterday. He was using a statement of fact which, when you look at it, is not borne out by the Survey Group itself. "We are back into this old spin again. We are back into seeing what we saw right through the last six or seven months. It has been described by an MoD intelligence officer in the Hutton Inquiry as 'overegging the information'. "We are back to what happened last year, where the prime minister uses language in order to create a particular impression and hopes that when he is challenged, he can say he didn't actually mean that. "A prime minister should use language in relation to intelligence material with great care. This prime minister does not and I think he hasn't learnt the lesson that he can't live by spin." CC