Former British Deputy PM admits intelligence doubts prior to Iraq War

Lord Prescott today said he had doubts about the intelligence on Saddam Hussein's weapons programs 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 that it was easy to blame the French when negotiations at the UN collapsed before the invasion. In a colorful session, during which he was twice asked by the inquiry panel to slow down so they could keep up with his evidence, Prescott told the inquiry he believed the war was legal but described tensions between the US and Britain over the approach to take in relation to the UN. 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. He told the inquiry he was determined to get a UN resolution before the invasion of Iraq, saying: "I was a strong advocate, as was the prime minister, that we must secure a UN resolution."