THE US-led team hunting for evidence of Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction programme has now found enough “proof” to produce a dossier of its findings next month, British officials say.

The Iraq Survey Group of up to 1,400 experts and support staff from the United States, Britain and Australia has compiled a list of discoveries, expected to include evidence of a long-term biological weapons programme.

Today’s Economist magazine claims that British Intelligence is planning to publish its own dossier on the recent findings. The first dossier on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction programme was published last September, six months before the invasion of Iraq.

The magazine quoted an “insider” as saying: “We would hope to be able to demonstrate in the fullness of time that almost all the information in last September’s dossier was accurate.”

However, officials said there was no intention of publishing a separate British dossier.

Last month David Kay, joint head of the Iraq Survey Group, said that “solid evidence” had been uncovered.

After briefing a closed session of members of Congress, Dr Kay said those who doubted whether Iraq had any weapons of mass destruction were in for a surprise. He told reporters after the meeting: “There is solid evidence being produced. We don’t intend to expose this evidence until we have full confidence it is solid proof.” He said the Iraq Survey Group was getting active co-operation from Iraqis involved in the weapons programme.

“We are, as we speak, involved in sensitive exploitation of sites that we are being led to by Iraqis,” he said.

British officials also confirmed that a substantial amount of evidence had emerged recently from interviews with Iraqi scientists of the way in which Saddam had concealed his weapons programme from UN inspectors.

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