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Straw calls Iraqi claims 'pack of lies'

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON DEC. 8. The British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw today rejected as a "pack of lies'' Iraqi claims that it does not have any weapons of mass destruction and said Baghdad had to account for `thousands' of items identified by previous inspectors.

He said it remained to be seen whether the latest "11,000 page dossier (submitted to the United Nations) is consistent with his past disclosures'' which had turned out to be "normally pack of lies''.

At the same time, he cautioned against rushing to judgement until the full details were known.

Mr. Straw's remarks, on BBC's Breakfast with Frost, came amid reports that Britain was willing to offer asylum to Iraqi scientists who might be in a position to disclose information about Baghdad's weapons of mass destruction.

The Sunday Times said that Britain's military bases in Cyprus could be the ''first stop for scientists flown out of Iraq.''

It also spoke of growing pressure on the U.N. weapons inspectors to broaden the scope of their investigations.

``British diplomats have urged U.N. inspectors to implement part of the Security Council's resolution on disarming Iraq which entitles them to interview scientists and other witnesses outside Iraq,'' the newspaper said.

Mr. Straw said Britain had "every confidence'' in the weapons inspectors but insisted that there was a "lot of intelligence'' about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction already available. Saddam Hussein, he said, had been "consistently telling lies'' and the patience of the international community was "running out''.

He was seen to be echoing the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who has consistently questioned Iraqi denials on the issue.

In an article in a London-based Arabic newspaper al-Hayat today, Mr. Blair said he remained `sceptical' of Iraqi position. Referring to Iraq's weapons' declaration, he said: "Let us hope that it's a true and frank account. You'll forgive me if, knowing all that I do about Saddam's past record, I remain sceptical,'' he wrote.

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