The week before the dossier's publication, Downing Street media chief Alastair Campbell sent a memo to Joint Intelligence Committee chairman John Scarlett.

BBC: NEWS | UK | Politics | Q&A: The weapons evidence

Britain's chief spymaster, the chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, John Scarlett, made a rare public appearance to back up Mr Campbell's assertion.

ECONOMIST: Dr Spin quits | The

The question of whether Downing Street exaggerated the threat from Iraq, which was successfully batted away by John Scarlett, the head of the Joint Intelligence Committee, last month, has returned.

ECONOMIST: Politics