How the dossier changed

Dr Kelly was found dead in July

Drafts of the government's dossier on Iraq's weapons have been revealed at the Hutton inquiry.

They include the claim that Iraq could deploy weapons of mass destruction in 45 minutes.

That reference is at the centre of the row between the government and the BBC over Andrew Gilligan's report that the dossier was "sexed up" on the orders of Downing Street a week before publication.

A draft on 5 September did not contain the 45 minutes claim, but another on 10 or 11 September did.

It said Iraq "envisages the use of WMD in its current military planning and could deploy such weapons within 45 minutes of the order being given.

"Within the last month intelligence has suggested that the Iraqi military would be able to use their chemical and biological weapons within 45 minutes of being ordered to do so."

But a draft on 16 September read: "The Iraqi military may be able to deploy chemical or biological weapons within 45 minutes of an order to do so."

James Dingemans, counsel for the Hutton inquiry, asked Martin Howard, the MoD's deputy chief of defence intelligence: "It seems to have got a little bit weaker, is that fair?"

'Harder'

Mr Howard said: "It is very fine shading, 'intelligence suggests' could be synonymous with 'may', but I can understand that some people might think it had been weakened."

The final version of the dossier, published on 24 September, read: "His (Saddam Hussein's) military planning allows for some of the WMD to be ready within 45 minutes of an order to use them."

Mr Dingemans asked: "This is noticeably harder, is that fair?"

Mr Howard replied: "I think that's fair, yes."

Mr Howard said there were no problems about using the 45-minutes claim as far as the intelligence services were concerned.

He said: "I think their concerns were about how it had been presented in the prime minister's foreword and the executive summary."