Bishop calls for Iraq weapons reports to be available to public

The Rt Rev Dr Peter Selby, said so long as the intelligence reports do not jeopardise other security operations, they should be published so people can make up their own minds.

"Trust in the Government would be seriously undermined if that does not happen," he said.

The Allies have failed to provide convincing evidence that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction since Iraq fell.

This was despite Tony Blair's warning before the war that Saddam could launch biological weapons within 45 minutes.

The Bishop's comments came as city MP Mike Foster said he expected the Prime Minister to announce an inquiry into the allegations by the Joint Intelligence Select Committee later today.

The Foreign Affairs Select Committee has already said it would also hold an inquiry into the WMD issue.

Mr Foster said now Ministers should be allowed to get on with their jobs.

History

"If you look back in recent history the same people who want public inquiries are the same people who say they want select committees to have freedom in Parliament. So let's let them get on with the job," he said.

However, anti-war protesters from Worcestershire say they feel vindicated after the failure by British and US forces to find any WMDs in Iraq - two months after the war ended.

"The intelligence dossier was full of holes and at the time of its release we said that the evidence was flimsy," said Issy Swift, from the Worcester For Peace group, formerly known as the Worcester Stop the War Coalition.

"Colin Powell and Jack Straw have even come out to question the evidence," she said."

Rob Menzies, who was chairman of the Worcester Stop the War Coalition, said he sees "hypocrisy" in the Government's attitude.

"What gets me is that now Tony Blair says they need more time to find the weapons but that is exactly what Hans Blix was asking for. It is just hypocrisy."

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