Concerns were also raised that the JIC ignored warnings that the Iraq weapons claims were "over-egged".

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The JIC report complained that the government was entirely reliant on the Northern Ireland authorities for intelligence from the province.

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JIC's independence and impartiality has not been compromised in any way.

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"However, the JIC was prepared to rely on a single source because the official was a senior figure in Mr Hussein's regime, not a defector, " the paper said.

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Nevertheless, JIC advised against the government establishing its own intelligence network in Northern Ireland as that would only alienate the authorities there and cut off what little information they received.

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Former Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) chairman Sir Rodric Braithwaite told the programme it looked like the current committee had become involved in rallying the public around the pre-war stance against Iraq.

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He said the JIC's job was to analyse material.

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Since 1994, the ISC has been the statutory oversight body for the Security Service (MI5), Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), and Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), and also consults with the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), Intelligence, Security and Resilience Group (ISRG), the Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS), and other agencies.

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