Scott Ritter led the team in Iraq for seven years before resigning in August, saying he could no longer do his job.

Now he has accused the UK and the US of trying to maintain merely an "illusion" of controlling Saddam Hussein's arsenal.

In reality, western leaders did not want to push the issue because of a lack of public support for military strikes against Iraq, Mr Ritter told the BBC's Fergal Keane.

Mr Ritter's critics - including the UK Foreign Office and US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright - say he cannot see the wider political context.

Meanwhile there is stalemate between Iraq and the UN.

Baghdad insists it no longer has weapons of mass destruction and so sanctions imposed after the 1990 invasion of Kuwait should be lifted.

The UN says this cannot be done until weapons inspections are complete.