Report: Cab driver source of weapons claim

LONDON, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- A Iraqi cab driver was the source for a false claim regarding Saddam Hussein's arsenal of mass destructive weapons, a British defense specialist alleged.

A cab driver on the Iraq-Jordanian border allegedly overheard two Iraqi military commanders say Hussein could unleash weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes, said Adam Holloway a former Grenadier Guardsman and member of Parliament who specializes in defense issues.

Though British intelligence officials doubted the credibility of the information, then Prime Minister Tony Blair used it to bolster public support for the war in 2002, Holloway told The Daily Mail in a story published Tuesday. The weapon's claim later was widely discredited.

Tuesday, John Scarlett, the head of Britain's joint intelligence committee under Blair, was expected to be asked about the allegation during a government inquiry into Britain's involvement in the war, The Guardian reported.