Page:The Report of the Iraq Inquiry - Executive Summary.pdf/54

The Report of the Iraq Inquiry

353.  Asked specifically about the theory that at some point in the future Saddam Hussein would probably have brought together international terrorism and weapons of mass destruction in a threat to Western interests, Baroness Manningham‑Buller responded:

354.  Asked if “a war in Iraq would aggravate the threat from whatever source to the United Kingdom”, Baroness Manningham‑Buller stated that that was the view communicated by the JIC Assessments.

355.  Baroness Manningham‑Buller subsequently added that if Ministers had read the JIC Assessments they could “have had no doubt” about that risk. She said that by the time of the July 2005 attacks in London:

356.  Asked whether the judgement that the effect of the invasion of Iraq had increased the terrorist threat to the UK was based on hard evidence or a broader assessment, Baroness Manningham‑Buller replied:

357.  In its request for a statement, the Inquiry asked Mr Blair if he had read the JIC Assessment of 10 February 2002, and what weight he had given to it when he decided to take military action.

358.  In his statement Mr Blair wrote: Rh