THE American government has reacted furiously to comments by Michael Meacher, the former environment minister, that it may have deliberately ignored warnings of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Meacher claimed in articles and interviews this weekend that the American administration was bent on global domination and secretly hoped for such an attack to justify war in Afghanistan and Iraq.

He accused Britain and America of using the global war on terror as a ??political smokescreen?? to cover their real intentions of securing Iraq??s oil supplies for the West.

Yesterday, a spokesman for the American embassy in London called Meacher??s suggestions ??monstrously offensive??.

The claims were also forcefully dismissed by Downing Street. A spokesman said: ??He is no longer a member of the government and we completely reject his views.??

Although other former ministers such as Robin Cook and Clare Short have spoken out against the war in Iraq none has been as extreme as Meacher. His comments come as Britain is preparing to send more troops to Iraq.

The most controversial suggestion by Meacher, who left the government this summer, is that the American authorities had enough time to intercept the jets that hit the World Trade Center and Pentagon but chose not to do so.

Meacher stuck by his comments last night, proposing that the defence select committee could investigate the possibility that America deliberately ignored warnings. He acknowledged that the committee would be handicapped because it would be unable to compel American witnesses to give evidence but said: ??We do need a formal investigation of these issues.??

He added: ??I am raising this as a question rather than an accusation.

??America launched interceptor aircraft 67 times in 2001 but on 9/11 there was no response even though there was over an hour between the hijackings and the impacts.

??We need to know why there was no response on that day, especially since there were clear intelligence warnings in the preceding weeks.??

A report by a joint committee of the Senate and Congress has already looked at events before the attack.

It concluded that intelligence and security agencies made a series of blunders but found no hint of any conspiracy of the kind suggested by Meacher.

Despite his comments Meacher voted in favour of the war against Iraq and this weekend made it clear he still approved of the invasion.

Twelve years ago he wrote a pamphlet supporting the idea of military action against dictators and tyrants who attacked their own people. He said he still held such views.

He added: ??I did not support the ostensible reasons for going to war such as weapons of mass destruction but I was prepared to support Tony Blair when he said that military intervention was justified on humanitarian grounds.

??Whatever is happening in Iraq now is still better than what was happening under Saddam Hussein.??

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