BRITAIN: The late British government scientist and weapons expert Dr David Kelly believed that Saddam Hussein was a threat with the capacity to deploy weapons of mass destruction (WMD) within "days or weeks."
The BBC last night broadcast a previously unscreened interview with Dr Kelly, recorded in October 2002, just a month after the British government published its controversial Iraqi weapons dossier.
Asked if Saddam was a real threat who possessed WMD, Dr Kelly replied: "Yes. Even if they're not actually filled and deployed today, the capability exists to get them filled and deployed within a matter of days or weeks." And there was further respite for Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair ahead of next week's Hutton Inquiry Report when a special BBC Panorama programme criticised BBC bosses for backing Today programme reporter Mr Andrew Gilligan and concluded that - contrary to his claims - 10 Downing Street "did not override the assessment of the Joint Intelligence Committee" in deciding the content of the weapons dossier.
However both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats renewed their demand for a full inquiry into the whole case for the war in Iraq, as critics seized on Dr Kelly's words to again question the British government's most notorious claim - namely that Saddam could deploy WMD at 45 minutes notice.
And there was apprehension in Whitehall as the programme implied the Blair government had been duplicitous over so-called "naming strategy" by which Dr Kelly was identified as the suspected source for the BBC's claims.
Dr Kelly is believed to have killed himself soon after his identity became known and his subsequent public grilling by the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee last July.
While there was surprise in Downing Street yesterday after the Conservative leader, Mr Michael Howard, chose not to resume his attack on the Kelly affair for a third week running, last night's programme returned the spotlight on the vital question of the naming strategy - and whether Mr Blair might be found to have approved it in Lord Hutton's report to be published next Wednesday.
Mr Blair will make a detailed statement to MPs after Lord Hutton reports and it was confirmed last night that he will lead for the government in the Commons debate a week later. It also emerged that shortly after that debate the prime minister will face a televised grilling by members of the Commons Liaison Committee on February 3rd.
In his interview for the BBC Dr Kelly revealed sizeable gaps in the British Intelligence community's knowledge of Iraq's WMD but insisted they did pose a real threat to neighbouring countries like Iran and Israel.
Conservative deputy leader Mr Michael Ancram said Dr Kelly's remarks placed him at odds with the views presented in the government's dossier: "They show his concern with the 45-minute claim and with the passage amended by Jonathan Powell (Mr Blair's chief of staff) to suggest Saddam Hussein would use weapons of mass destruction in circumstances other than self-defence."