Draft Iraq dossier published

An early draft of the infamous intelligence dossier used to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq has been published by the government.

The draft, written by former communications director John Williams, was written in July 2002 and contains no mention of the claim that Saddam Hussein was capable of deploying weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes.

It claims Iraq had acquired uranium specifically for nuclear weapons and was holding "stocks of chemical and biological agents", intelligence it alleges is based on "a rigorous system".

It continues: "On the basis of our best assessment, the British government is convinced that Iraq is actively assembling an arsenal of terror weapons with which to intimidate its neighbours and the wider international community."

Last month an information tribunal ruled the Foreign Office had to publish the draft because only the final document, issued by former prime minister Tony Blair in September 2002, was made available to the Hutton report.

That inquiry focused on the death of weapons expert David Kelly and revealed much about the flawed intelligence gathering and assessment procedures used to justify the Iraq invasion.

It should not be viewed as the "final word on the subject", the information tribunal ruled last month, resulting in the forced publication of the draft written by Mr Williams.

The government continues to oppose its publication. A statement from foreign secretary David Miliband said: "Officials and others who draft policy documents should not feel constrained in presenting free and frank advice through fear that their ideas will be made public.

"This must continue to be an important principle for the effective conduct of government."