salahuddin_ayyubi
22nd February 2008, 09:45 AM
A handwritten note scribbled in the margin of the first draft of the controversial Iraq weapons dossier referring to Israel’s nuclear arsenal now threatens to cause a damaging dispute between Britain and its Middle Eastern ally.
It emerged last night that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) successfully fought to keep the note secret because it drew attention to Israel’s alleged nuclear weapons programme.
Jotted down by an unknown official at the office, it was written against the claim that “no other country has flouted the United Nations’ authority so brazenly in pursuit of weapons of mass destruction”.
In a statement to the Information Tribunal, successfully arguing that the note should not be disclosed, Neil Wigan, head of the FCO’s Arab, Israel and North Africa Group, said: “I interpret this note to indicate that the person who wrote it believes that Israel has flouted the United Nations’ auth- ority in a manner similar to that of the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein.”
Alongside the claim that no other country apart from Iraq had twice be- gun wars of aggression against neighbours, the unknown official wrote: “Germany?” and “US: Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico”. Against a reference to the use of chemical weapons, the official has written: “Japan in China?”
Although the draft — drawn up by John Williams in 2002 when he was press secretary to Jack Straw, then the Foreign Secretary — was made public this week, the single reference to Israel was removed.
The FCO successfully argued to the tribunal that any public mention of the candid reference would seriously damage UK/Israeli relations.
A spokeswoman for the FCO said last night: “We don’t comment on leaked documents.”
The Guardian, which obtained a copy of Mr Wigan’s witness statement to the tribunal, said the senior FCO official revealed that in the past five years there had been ten substantial incidents and 20 more minor ones relating to Israeli concerns about attitudes to their government within Whitehall.
Mr Wigan, who did not know who wrote the note, said the comparison with Saddam and the “implied accusation of a breach of the UN’s authority by Israel are potentially very serious”.
It was “inevitable” that relations between the UK and Israel would suffer if the marginal note were allowed to enter the public domain, he added in the October 2007 statement.
Mr Wigan said: “Unfortunately, there is perception already in Israel that parts of the FCO are prejudiced against the country.” The note on the Williams draft dossier “would therefore confirm this pre-existing suspicion and would increase the damage”.
He said that “criticism of Israel received a huge amount of media coverage”. The margin comment mentioning Israel would thus be given a “high profile”. Harming relations with Israel would undermine the FCO’s ability to prevent and resolve conflict “through a strong international system”. In addition, there was “an important national interest in relation to counter-terrorism”, Mr Wigan said.
The FCO had no objections to references to other countries in the margin of the Williams document.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3406346.ece
It emerged last night that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) successfully fought to keep the note secret because it drew attention to Israel’s alleged nuclear weapons programme.
Jotted down by an unknown official at the office, it was written against the claim that “no other country has flouted the United Nations’ authority so brazenly in pursuit of weapons of mass destruction”.
In a statement to the Information Tribunal, successfully arguing that the note should not be disclosed, Neil Wigan, head of the FCO’s Arab, Israel and North Africa Group, said: “I interpret this note to indicate that the person who wrote it believes that Israel has flouted the United Nations’ auth- ority in a manner similar to that of the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein.”
Alongside the claim that no other country apart from Iraq had twice be- gun wars of aggression against neighbours, the unknown official wrote: “Germany?” and “US: Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico”. Against a reference to the use of chemical weapons, the official has written: “Japan in China?”
Although the draft — drawn up by John Williams in 2002 when he was press secretary to Jack Straw, then the Foreign Secretary — was made public this week, the single reference to Israel was removed.
The FCO successfully argued to the tribunal that any public mention of the candid reference would seriously damage UK/Israeli relations.
A spokeswoman for the FCO said last night: “We don’t comment on leaked documents.”
The Guardian, which obtained a copy of Mr Wigan’s witness statement to the tribunal, said the senior FCO official revealed that in the past five years there had been ten substantial incidents and 20 more minor ones relating to Israeli concerns about attitudes to their government within Whitehall.
Mr Wigan, who did not know who wrote the note, said the comparison with Saddam and the “implied accusation of a breach of the UN’s authority by Israel are potentially very serious”.
It was “inevitable” that relations between the UK and Israel would suffer if the marginal note were allowed to enter the public domain, he added in the October 2007 statement.
Mr Wigan said: “Unfortunately, there is perception already in Israel that parts of the FCO are prejudiced against the country.” The note on the Williams draft dossier “would therefore confirm this pre-existing suspicion and would increase the damage”.
He said that “criticism of Israel received a huge amount of media coverage”. The margin comment mentioning Israel would thus be given a “high profile”. Harming relations with Israel would undermine the FCO’s ability to prevent and resolve conflict “through a strong international system”. In addition, there was “an important national interest in relation to counter-terrorism”, Mr Wigan said.
The FCO had no objections to references to other countries in the margin of the Williams document.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3406346.ece