UK parliament to probe Iraq intelligence

The Times said that Richard Dearlove, the head of MI6, Britain's foreign intelligence service, was to appear before parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC).

Dearlove would be asked why he believed that intelligence on Saddam's weapons was reliable and accurate, and would produce a report on its findings in June, the paper said.

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But the Foreign Office denied that Dearlove had been called to answer questions as part of a fresh inquiry, saying that the spy chief appeared regularly before the Intelligence and Security Committee.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "There is no special inquiry at all. Richard Dearlove sees the ISC on a regular basis."

Saddam's failure to give up his pursuit of weapons of mass destruction was cited by Britain and the United States as a justification for launching war on Iraq last March.