WHEN John Scarlett begins his new job this morning as head of MI6 his first task will be to defend himself against yet another damaging allegation about falsifying intelligence to help Tony Blair.

This latest controversy has prompted many in the intelligence community to question whether Mr Scarlett is too much of a liability to run the Secret Intelligence Service.

The growing view in Whitehall is that he is “damaged goods”, dogged by scandal, who for the sake of the agency should stand down to allow MI6 the chance to restore its credibility.

Mr Scarlett faces claims that in March he clumsily tried to distort a crucial report by the Iraq Survey Group, (ISG), the international body set up to hunt for Saddam Hussein’s supposed arsenal of banned armaments.

Just before the 1,400-strong team of inspectors were due to report on how they had failed to turn up any trace of weapons of mass destruction they were reportedly contacted by Mr Scarlett.

He was still head of the Joint Intelligence Committee and suggested that the ISG report should be cut from 200 pages of detailed analysis to 20, and left sufficently vague to protect Mr Blair’s stand on Iraq’s weapons menace.

He wanted the report to keep alive the prospect that deadly weapons could still be found.

In a confidential e-mail sent to the ISG team in Baghdad, Mr Scarlett is alleged to have asked them to add ten “golden nuggets” to their report which prolonged the idea that there were weapons of mass destruction.

One of these alleged “nuggets” was that Iraq was developing smallpox weapons. He also wanted mention that Iraq had mobile biological weapons laboratories and sophisticated equipment for use in nuclear weapons research.

If these accusations prove accurate it will put enormous pressure on him to quit.

One former intelligence officer said last night: “This is the worst possible start for him as he begins his new job. He wanted a fresh start for the service but you get the sinking feeling this is never going to end while he is around.

“He is dogged by controversy, and I fear always will be. While he is a thoroughly decent man he is simply too high profile, too closely associated with the Prime Minister in many minds ever to be given a fair chance.

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