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LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Some British intelligence officials believed Iraq's chemical and biological weapons capability was overstated in a government dossier used to justify war, but their concerns were ignored, a former intelligence official said on Wednesday.
"In my view, the expert intelligence analysts of the DIS (Defence Intelligence Staff) were overruled in the preparation of the dossier back in September 2002, resulting in a presentation that was misleading about Iraq's capabilities," Dr Brian Jones wrote in the Independent newspaper.
Jones, now retired, was head of a team of government chemical and biological weapons experts who formed part of the Ministry of Defence's intelligence service.
The newspaper article is likely to add further fuel to the controversy surrounding intelligence assessments of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.
Prime Minister Tony Blair agreed on Tuesday to hold an inquiry into the quality of intelligence on banned Iraqi weapons, bowing to pressure for an explanation as to why no biological or chemical weapons have been found 10 months after Saddam Hussein was toppled in the U.S.-led war. (Full story)
In September, Jones gave evidence before a separate inquiry into the suicide of defense ministry weapons expert David Kelly, who was unmasked as the source of a BBC report that alleged Blair had exaggerated the threat posed by Iraq to justify war.
During his testimony, Jones outlined his concerns about the assertion in the 2002 dossier that Saddam could launch banned weapons at just 45 minutes notice.
Jones wrote in the Independent that experts at DIS had felt the dossier should have stated there was a probability Iraq had some chemical or biological capability at some level but that the case should not have been made in stronger terms.
"Despite pointing this out in comments on several drafts, the stronger statements did eventually appear in the executive summary," Jones wrote.
Last week, the judge heading the inquiry into Kelly's death said the BBC report that the government had "sexed up" the risk posed by Iraq was unfounded.
Judge Lord Hutton's criticism of the BBC, which led to its chairman and director general resigning last week, was seen as a victory for the government, but the failure to find any banned weapons in Iraq has dented Blair's credibility.
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