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How Labour used the law to keep
criticism of Israel secret
Exclusive: Concern over nuclear arsenal removed from Iraq
dossier.
By Richard Norton-Taylor
21/02/08 "Guardian" -- -- The full extent of government anxiety
about the state of British-Israel relations can be exposed for
the first time today in a secret document seen by the Guardian.
The document reveals how the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)
successfully fought to keep secret any mention of Israel
contained on the first draft of the controversial, now
discredited Iraq weapons dossier. At the heart of it was
nervousness at the top of government about any mention of
Israel's nuclear arsenal in an official paper accusing Iraq of
flouting the UN's authority on weapons of mass destruction.
The dossier was made public this week, but the FCO succeeded
before a tribunal in having the handwritten mention of Israel
kept secret.
The FCO never argued that the information would damage national
security. The Guardian has seen the full text and a witness
statement from a senior FCO official, who argued behind closed
doors that any public mention of the candid reference would
seriously damage UK/Israeli relations. In the statement, he
reveals that in the past five years there have been 10
substantial incidents and 20 more minor ones relating to Israeli
concerns about attitudes to their government within Whitehall.
The Information Tribunal, which adjudicates on disputes
involving the Freedom of Information Act, agreed to remove the
single reference to Israel when it ordered the release of the
draft of the Iraqi weapons dossier written by John Williams, the
FCO's chief information officer at the time.
Along with unfavourable references to the US and Japan, the
reference to Israel was written in the margin by someone
commenting on the opening paragraph of the Williams draft. It
was written against the claim that "no other country [apart from
Iraq] has flouted the United Nations' authority so brazenly in
pursuit of weapons of mass destruction".
In statement to the tribunal, Neil Wigan, head of the FCO's
Arab, Israel and North Africa Group, said he did not know who
had referred to Israel in the margin. He went on: "I interpret
this note to indicate that the person who wrote it believes that
Israel has flouted the United Nations' authority in a manner
similar to that of the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein."
Its disclosure would seriously damage the UK's relations with
Israel, Wigan 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.
Wigan observed: "Unfortunately, there is perception already in
Israel that parts of the FCO [Foreign and Commonwealth Office]
are prejudiced against the country". The note on the Williams
draft dossier "would therefore confirm this pre-existing
suspicion and would increase the damage".
Writing in October last year, he noted 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", Wigan said.
The FCO insisted on the removal of the reference to Israel after
it lost a long battle to suppress the draft dossier, which was
drawn up in early September 2002. It originally argued that the
name of the author needed to be protected. It then said the
contents of the draft dossier should be suppressed to protect
the need for officials to give frank advice. The Williams
document was finally released by the FCO last week, three years
after it was first requested by Chris Ames, an independent
researcher, who pursued his campaign in the New Statesman
magazine.
Richard Thomas, the Information Commissioner, said last year
that it was in the public interest that the document should be
released in its entirety. The FO appealed against his ruling and
took it to the Information Tribunal.
The FCO had no objections to references to other countries in
the margin of the Williams document. Alongside the claim that no
other country apart from Iraq had twice launched wars of
aggression against neighbours, the unknown FCO official writes:
"Germany?" and " US: Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico". Against a
reference to the use of chemical weapons, the official has
written: "Japan in China?"
Claims in the Williams draft are similar to those in the final
government Iraqi weapons dossier published in late September
2002. The Information Tribunal ordered the release of the draft,
without reference to Israel, observing that it may have played a
bigger role in influencing the final dossier than previously
supposed. The government tried to distance itself from the
Williams draft.
© Guardian News and Media Limited 2008
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