Mr. MitchellTo ask the Solicitor-General what information the Attorney-General had received on weapons of mass destruction when he prepared his opinion on the legality of war against Iraq; whether this included information on weapons capable of being launched in 45 minutes; and whether it was indicated to him whether there we re battlefield weapons or weapons deliverable to targets outside Iraq. [155417]
§ The Solicitor-GeneralThe Attorney-General received a briefing from the Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee on the content of the Government dossier published in September 2002 on 19 September 2002. As I explained to the hon. and learned Member for Medway (Mr. Marshall-Andrews) in my reply to him dated 14 October 2003, the Attorney-General did not rely upon any facts or assertions contained in the September dossier as material to his conclusion set out in his statement of 17 March that Iraq had failed to comply with Resolution 1441 and that a legal base for the use of force existed in the combined effect of UN Security Council Resolutions 678,687 and 1441.