22 January 2004	Thursday	29 Ziqa'ad 1424

LONDON, Jan 21: British government weapons expert David Kelly said in a BBC interview nine months before he took his life that it would have taken "days or weeks" for Iraq to mobilize its chemical or biological weapons , the public broadcaster revealed on Wednesday.

Dr Kelly committed suicide in July last year, just days after he was exposed as the source of a BBC report that alleged that Prime Minister Tony Blair's government had "sexed up" intelligence on Iraq in the run-up to the invasion.

The allegations centred on a Sept 2002 dossier from Mr Blair's government claiming that Iraq could deploy chemical or biological weapons in just 45 minutes.

But in an interview with the BBC in Oct 2002, which until Wednesday was never broadcast, Dr Kelly said it would take longer than merely 45 minutes for Iraq to prepare its chemical and biological weapons for battle.

"Even if they're not actually filled and deployed today, the capability exists to get them filled and deployed within a matter of days and weeks," said Kelly, a one-time UN arms inspector in Iraq.-AFP