Watchdog rejects No 10's plea to keep 'sexed up' WMD dossier secret

The Information Commissioner ordered civil servants to release undisclosed emails and memos about a draft of the dossier which supposedly set out the threat posed by Saddam Hussein.

Richard Thomas flatly rejected Government claims that the comments - kept under wraps during a three-year legal battle - could jeopardise national security.

Information Commissioner Richard Thomas said  there was a public interest in revealing details of the Iraq dossier that was linked to the death of Dr David Kelly

The Government has been ordered to open the Iraq file following a three-year legal battle

He said it was clearly in the public interest to know what alterations to the dossier were proposed in the days before it was published.

This was because the undisclosed material could provide 'evidence that the dossier was deliberately manipulated in order to present an exaggerated case for military action'.

Lord Hutton's inquiry into the death of government scientist Dr David Kelly heard that last-minute changes to the draft were suggested by Tony Blair's spin supremo Alastair Campbell, and subsequently adopted by intelligence chiefs.

The dossier was published by the then Prime Minister to set out the Government's case for the war, which began in March 2003.

It claimed the Iraqi dictator was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction, but this was later revealed to be completely wrong.

The document also claimed that Saddam could launch devastating chemical and biological attacks within 45 minutes of ordering a strike.

This led to claims that it was inserted by Mr Campbell to bolster the justification for war.

The Government has claimed that Downing Street did not insert the 45-minute claim against the wishes of spy chiefs.

Dr Kelly, a respected UN weapons expert, was found dead in woodland near his Oxfordshire home in July 2003 soon after being named as the source of a BBC report suggesting the dossier was 'sexed up'.

He had apparently committed suicide by slitting his wrists and taking an overdose of prescription drugs, but there remains intense speculation that he was murdered.

Freedom of information campaigners believe they could be a step nearer discovering the truth about the dossier after the Information Commissioner ordered the publication of proposed alterations made to it between September 11 and 16, 2002.

In his ruling, Mr Thomas said the release of 'comments arising from bodies other than the Defence Intelligence Staff' could not be considered a security risk'.

Campaigning journalist Chris Ames, who believes the Government is withholding vital information about the case for war, has fought for three years to get the information published.

He said: 'The commissioner has laid bare the Government's farcical cover-up, which included shamelessly playing the national security card.'

The Cabinet Office said it was considering the Commissioner's decision. Ministers have 35 days to decide whether to appeal to the Information Tribunal.