Blix questions 45-minute clause
Hans Blix, former head of the UN weapons inspectors, has told The Independent on Sunday that Prime Minister Tony Blair made a “fundamental mistake” in insisting Saddam Hussein was able to deploy lethal weapons in 45 minutes.
According to Mr Blix, the 45-minute clause was “pretty far off the mark.”
“It seems to me highly unlikely that there were any means of delivering biological or chemical weapons within 45 minutes,” he said.
The Labour government has faced fierce criticism over both the September and February dossiers, which directly assessed Iraq’s capacity to launch weapons of mass destruction.
His remarks comes as Clare Short, former International Development Secretary, repeats her call for the PM to resign to save the party from self-implosion.
‘There are two good years until the next election. We’ll see how this plays out. I think the best solution for Tony would be if he planned to move on before it gets ever nastier.”
Lending his support to the PM, Home Secretary David Blunkett said Mrs Short’s comments were “typically self-indulgent.”
He said: “It is important to get behind the Prime Minister and focus on the things that matter to people, like decent opportunities and economic prosperity.
“I do not understand why people would plot to try to change the most successful leader in the Labour Party’s history.”
