Hoon under pressure in Commons

Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon came under withering attack from both sides of the Commons today over Iraq.

Opposition MPs condemned the Government's post-conflict policies as a "shambles" after recent attacks on British and US forces.

But the most telling assault, on the Government's

dossier on Iraq, came from former Cabinet minister Robin Cook who quit as Commons leader over the decision to go to war.

In a bruising intervention, which brought gasps from some MPs, Mr Cook said "no reasonable Member" could object to the earlier announcement that an extra 1,000 British troops are being sent to Iraq.

But he added: "Those of us who had doubts as to whether it was wise to go into Iraq in the first place do not have those doubts removed by today's announcement."

He then demanded: "Were you aware of the reservations of your defence intelligence staff on the September dossier, for instance that the 45-minute claim was based on nebulous intelligence.

"And if you were aware of that, how was it that the House and the Cabinet were presented with a dossier that did not reflect the reservations of your own intelligence experts?"

Mr Hoon told him: "I accept that for those like you who had reservations about the deployment at the time, it may well be that such reinforcements are not persuasive."

He added: "As far as the question of intelligence is concerned, you know from your previous responsibilities that intelligence questions of this kind are resolved, as they are required to be resolved, through the Joint Intelligence Committee machinery - something set up as long ago as the late 1950s and not ... by departmental discussion."

The bitter exchanges came as MPs reassembled at Westminster after the summer recess.

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