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Blair under pressure to sack Hoon, Defence Secretary

IRNA

London, Sept 10, IRNA - Prime Minister Tony Blair was under pressure 
Wednesday to sack his Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon following a leaked 
report that he will stand accused of "misleading" MPs over the 
government`s controversial dossier on Iraq`s arms threat. 
Blair refused to answer a question on whether he would dismiss 
Hoon if he (were) found to have misled parliament in a report by the 
Intelligence Committee on the use of intelligence in the run up to the
war against Iraq, which is due to be published Thursday. 
He also rejected a call to publish the report immediately in order
to end the saga of Hoon being left "twisting in the wind." 
London`s Evening Standard said Wednesday that the committee`s 
report would accuse the Defence Secretary of giving "misleading" 
evidence about the Iraq arms dossier that was published in September 
2002. 
The leaked report alleges that Hoon ignored advice from senior 
civil servants and goes on to say that he incorrectly denied that 
Ministry of Defence and intelligence officials were unhappy about the 
dossier`s content. 
It was also said to have concluded that the controversial claim 
that Iraq could use weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes 
should not have been included in the dossier that was used to justify 
the Iraq war. 
The Defence Secretary is already expected to be recalled and 
questioned by the inquiry into the death of David Kelly, after being 
implicated in the naming of former Iraq arms inspector before his 
assumed suicide on July 18. 
Speculation was divided on whether Hoon would tender his 
resignation either following publication of the Intelligence and 
Security Committee report on Tuesday or at the latest, before the 
inquiry into Kelly`s death issues its report at the end of October. 
Concern was also said to be expressed that the Defence Secretary`s
resignation would leave Blair more exposed to the findings of the 
Kelly inquiry, even if his office is cleared as a whole of 
deliberately misleading the public. 
HC/215 
End