Former Downing Street communications boss Alastair Campbell strongly denied that intelligence information had been manipulated to show that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.

He said that a controversial dossier which stated that Iraq could launch biological or chemical weapons within 45 minutes had been a "serious solid piece of work."

Campbell, who has been accused of involvement in "sexing up" the dossier, admitted that much of the information about Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's military capacity had been wrong. But he criticized the British media's "conspiracy theories" about the planning of the war.

"I defend every single word of the dossier and I defend every single part of the process," he said.

Notes between leaders

Campbell summed up the content of "quite a lot of notes" that Tony Blair had sent to former US president George W Bush in the run up to the 2003 war.

Blair had said that he shared Bush's concerns, said Campbell, and that he would support efforts to make sure that Iraq was disarmed.

"If that cannot be done diplomatically and it is to be done militarily, Britain will be there. That would be the tenor of the communication to the president," said Campbell.

Invasion followed vote

US-led forces, supported by Britain, began the invasion of Iraq two days after a British House of Commons vote to go to war. This was done without backing from the UN Security Council, prompting accusations that it was an illegal war.

Campbell said that, until the vote, Blair had been keen to resolve the matter peacefully. He also said that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who was Blair's finance minister at the time, had been among a circle of key advisers to Blair.

Blair faced a public backlash in Britain over the decision and, despite having led the country's Labour Party to three election wins, resigned in 2007.

rc/AP/AFP/DPA
Editor: Michael Lawton