Intelligence

Hoon has backing of Prime Minster and Cabinet

Times Online - HomeBY RICHARD COLWILL AND PA NEWS

Hoon 'has backing of Prime Minster and Cabinet'

Geoof Hoon, the Defence Secretary

Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, today defended his evidence to the Commons intelligence committee after it accused him of withholding information from their inquiry on Iraq.

Mr Hoon told the Commons that he had "no intention whatsoever other than to be open and straightforward" with the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) over the Iraqi dossier.

He added: "I regret any misunderstanding that might have arisen."

The ISC said earlier today it was "disturbing" that Mr Hoon did not disclose full details of the concerns expressed by Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS) about the Government's Iraq weapons dossier.

The ISC said in its report on the Iraq affair, which was published today, that the initial failure of the Ministry of Defence to reveal details of the concerns had been "unhelpful and potentially misleading".

The comments prompted Iain Duncan Smith, the Tory leader, to call for Mr Hoon to quit or be sacked. He said: "Either he should resign or the Prime Minister should dismiss him at once.

"I think this report is a damning report of the Secretary of State. The committee has accused him of misleading and withholding information. His career is hanging in the wind and it is an untenable position. Geoff Hoon has got to go, I'm afraid."

However, Tony Blair and his Cabinet jumped to Mr Hoon's defence. Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary speaking after this morning's Cabinet meeting and the publication of the report, insisted:

"I am in no doubt that the Defence Secretary should and will continue in his post.

"He has every confidence of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet colleagues."

The ISC report concluded that the dossier had not been "sexed up" by Alastair Campbell, Downing Street's Director of Communications, or anyone else in Government.

The report also said that there was no evidence of a conspiracy to deceive the general public about the treat that Iraq posed.

"We are content that the JIC (Joint Intelligence Committee) has not been subjected to political pressures, and that its independence and impartiality had not been compromised in any way," the report said.

But the dossier failed to make clear that Saddam Hussein was not considered a "current or imminent threat to mainland UK", the MPs concluded.

The MPs also said that the way that the 45-minute claim was presented was "unhelpful to an understanding of the issue".

The claim that Iraq could deploy weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes of an order being given appeared five times in the dossier, although it later transpired that it had come from only one source. Intelligence material is usually double sourced.

MPs also concluded that the dossier should have highlighted the uncertainty within the intelligence community over Iraq's capacity to produce chemical or biological weapons.

The report said: "It (the JIC) had assessed, based on intelligence, that production had taken place. We believe that this uncertainty should have been highlighted to give a balanced view of Saddam's chemical and biological capacity."

But the committee said that it accepted the controversial claim by MI6 that Iraq had tried to acquire uranium for its nuclear programme from the west African state of Niger. "We have questioned them about the basis of their judgment and conclude it is reasonable," the ISC said.

Ann Taylor, the chairwoman of the ISC, said "There was not political interference - the dossier was not sexed up. In fact, the dossier was based on the JIC assessments that we have seen."

However, she said Mr Hoon had been "potentially misleading" in his evidence in July but that he did not lie to the committee. "He did not tell us lies," she said. "It was potentially misleading, events overtook it."

The criticism of Mr Hoon and the Ministry of Defence revolved around the withholding of information about two members of the Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS) - the MoD's intelligence arm - who had written formally to their line managers to express concern about the way their intelligence was used in the dossier.

A memorandum submitted to the Hutton inquiry showed that Mr Hoon was briefed about their concerns by the Deputy Chief of Defence Intelligence, Martin Howard, in preparation for his appearance before the ISC.

Mr Howard advised that Mr Hoon should tell the committee "these concerns were fully aired as part of the process of reaching consensus within the DIS and within the JIC (Joint Intelligence Committee)".

Asked what the Defence Secretary's had said when the committee told him they thought he had not been frank with them about these concerns, Mrs Taylor said Mr Hoon had felt they were part of a normal debate.

But when the committee learnt that the concerns had been expressed in writing, she said: "He should have volunteered this. That's why we made that very point in the report".

The ISC report said today: "We regard the initial failure by the MoD to disclose that some staff had put their concerns in writing to their line managers as unhelpful and potentially misleading.

"This is not excused by the genuine belief within the DIS that the concerns had been expressed as part of the normal lively debate that often surrounds draft JIC (Joint Intelligence Committee) assessments within the DIS.

"We are disturbed that after the first evidence session, which did not cover all concerns raised by the DIS staff, the Defence Secretary decided against giving instructions for a letter to us outlining the concerns."

September 11, 2003 at 04:11 PM in Political | Permalink | Top of page | Blog Home