Lord Prescott admits intelligence doubts prior to Iraq war

[cal04]

Former deputy PM tells Chilcot inquiry that he dismissed some intelligence about the Iraq threat as 'tittle-tattle'
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/jul/30/lord-prescott-chilcot-inquiry

Lord Prescott said today that he had doubts about the intelligence on Saddam Hussein's weapons programmes before the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Giving evidence to the Chilcot inquiry, the former deputy prime minister dismissed some intelligence about the Iraq threat as "tittle-tattle", said the former attorney general was "not a happy bunny" in the run-up to war, and acknowledged it was easy to blame the French when negotiations at the United Nations collapsed before the invasion.

(snip)
He said the former US vice-president, Dick Cheney, believed Iraq was "unfinished business" and was determined to press ahead with the invasion, come what may. "You can't convince him of anything," Prescott said of Cheney.

(snip)
"He (Blair) did say to me 'don't be worried about his language'(George Bush). I don't think he meant the swearing, but the style and aggression that would be involved. I must say listening to it, I now know what he means," he said.

[secondwind]

1. A huge K&R first thing in the morning.....