LONDON // Tony Blair's closest aide refused to respond yesterday to allegations by a senior intelligence official that he "made the case" to go to war with Iraq.
Alastair Campbell's only comment on the controversy was a message on Twitter saying: "Dossier not case for war. Set out why govt more concerned re Iraq WMD. Never met Gen Laurie."
Mr Campbell, Mr Blair's communications director and his closest confidant, was referring to a letter published on Thursday by the Iraq inquiry in which Major Gen Michael Laurie accused Mr Campbell of skewing a report on Saddam Hussein harbouring weapons of mass destruction.
During inquiry questioning, Mr Campbell denied that a controversial dossier, which was made public and contained the false claim that Saddam Hussein had WMDs capable of being deployed in 45 minutes, was about promoting the "case for war".
When the dossier was published in September 2002, it gained worldwide attention and convinced many Britons, including a crucial number of MPs belonging to the ruling Labour Party, that the only solution was to topple Saddam militarily.
More than a year later, the letter from Gen Laurie, the defence ministry's director-general of intelligence collection from 2002 to 2003, was published by the inquiry, headed by Sir John Chilcot.
In it, Gen Laurie states: "Alastair Campbell said to the inquiry that the purpose of the dossier was not 'to make a case for war'.
"I had no doubt at that time this was exactly its purpose and these very words were used."
Gen Laurie says that the head of military intelligence, Air Marshal Sir Joe French, was "under pressure" to come up with proof of Saddam's weapons programmes.
The general says that it was clear to him that pressure was also being applied to the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), whose chairman, Sir John Scarlett, put his name as author of the dossier.
"We knew at the time that the purpose of the dossier was precisely to make a case for war, rather than setting out the available intelligence, and that to make the best out of sparse and inconclusive intelligence the wording was developed with care," writes Gen Laurie.
"We could find no evidence of planes, missiles or equipment that related to WMD, generally concluding that they must have been dismantled, buried or taken abroad.
"There has probably never been a greater detailed scrutiny of every piece of ground in any country."
As Britain prepared to join the US-led invasion in the spring of 2003, the BBC first reported that the dossier had, in fact, been exaggerated to make a case for war - a claim that brought a furious response from Mr Campbell and, eventually, separate parliamentary and government inquiries.
David Kelly, a former UN weapons inspector who was named as the source of the BBC report, subsequently committed suicide.
Sir Menzies Campbell, former leader of the Liberal Democrats - the only one of Britain's three major political parties to oppose the invasion - said yesterday that the Iraq inquiry members would now have to "resolve this direct and unequivocal conflict of evidence".
He said: "The controversy surrounding the dossier of September 2002 lies right at the very heart of the criticisms made of the Blair government.
"Sir John Chilcot and his colleagues will have to decide which of these two versions is correct. They can't both be right."
The Iraq inquiry, set up by the then prime minister Gordon Brown in 2009, was established to ascertain the justification and the legality of the invasion.
Its five-member committee has twice questioned Mr Blair along with other senior British politicians, diplomats and military officers.
Its final report, originally scheduled to be completed late last year but which is not now expected to be published until this October at the earliest, will also look at the conduct of the war, the supply of military equipment to UK troops, and the planning failures that led to Iraq's descent into chaos and sectarian war after the fall of Saddam.
dsapsted@thenational.ae
SPECS
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Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
MATCH INFO
Sheffield United 2 Bournemouth 1
United: Sharp (45 2'), Lundstram (84')
Bournemouth: C Wilson (13')
Man of the Match: Jack O’Connell (Sheffield United)
STAGE 4 RESULTS
1 Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 4:51:51
2 David Dekker (NED) Team Jumbo-Visma
3 Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal
4 Elia Viviani (ITA) Cofidis
5 Matteo Moschetti (ITA) Trek-Segafredo
General Classification
1 Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 12:50:21
2 Adam Yates (GBR) Teamn Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:43
3 Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:03
4 Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:43
5 Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
EMILY%20IN%20PARIS%3A%20SEASON%203
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
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Rock in a Hard Place: Music and Mayhem in the Middle East
Orlando Crowcroft
Zed Books
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'Saand Ki Aankh'
Produced by: Reliance Entertainment with Chalk and Cheese Films
Director: Tushar Hiranandani
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar, Prakash Jha, Vineet Singh
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
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No more lice
Defining head lice
Pediculus humanus capitis are tiny wingless insects that feed on blood from the human scalp. The adult head louse is up to 3mm long, has six legs, and is tan to greyish-white in colour. The female lives up to four weeks and, once mature, can lay up to 10 eggs per day. These tiny nits firmly attach to the base of the hair shaft, get incubated by body heat and hatch in eight days or so.
Identifying lice
Lice can be identified by itching or a tickling sensation of something moving within the hair. One can confirm that a person has lice by looking closely through the hair and scalp for nits, nymphs or lice. Head lice are most frequently located behind the ears and near the neckline.
Treating lice at home
Head lice must be treated as soon as they are spotted. Start by checking everyone in the family for them, then follow these steps. Remove and wash all clothing and bedding with hot water. Apply medicine according to the label instructions. If some live lice are still found eight to 12 hours after treatment, but are moving more slowly than before, do not re-treat. Comb dead and remaining live lice out of the hair using a fine-toothed comb.
After the initial treatment, check for, comb and remove nits and lice from hair every two to three days. Soak combs and brushes in hot water for 10 minutes.Vacuum the floor and furniture, particularly where the infested person sat or lay.
Courtesy Dr Vishal Rajmal Mehta, specialist paediatrics, RAK Hospital
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Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi
Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.
Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site
The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
MATCH INFO
Northern Warriors 92-1 (10 ovs)
Russell 37 no, Billings 35 no
Team Abu Dhabi 93-4 (8.3 ovs)
Wright 48, Moeen 30, Green 2-22
Team Abu Dhabi win by six wickets
Messi at the Copa America
2007 – lost 3-0 to Brazil in the final
2011 – lost to Uruguay on penalties in the quarter-finals
2015 – lost to Chile on penalties in the final
2016 – lost to Chile on penalties in the final
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5