Blair turned a blind eye to Iraq intelligence - Davey

12.47.40pm GMT Fri 27th Nov 2009

Liberal Democrats at the London rally against war in Iraq

Commenting on evidence given by a senior Foreign Office official to the Iraq Inquiry that the UK Government received intelligence in the days prior to invading Iraq that Saddam Hussein may not have been able use chemical weapons, Liberal Democrat Shadow Foreign Secretary, Edward Davey said "The threat that Saddam could deploy WMD within 45 minutes was fundamental to the Government's argument that Iraq presented an imminent danger. Yet this new evidence shows that the intelligence was, if anything, pointing towards Iraq becoming less of a threat.

Mr Davey added "A leader of courage and conviction would have used such evidence to halt the drumbeat for war, but Blair just turned a blind eye to intelligence that contradicted his case. This evidence proves what has long been suspected, that intelligence was cherry-picked or dismissed to support the case the Government wanted to make. It is becoming ever more clear that the case for war was nothing more than sophistry and deception, flying in the face of the latest and best intelligence."