LONDON, Oct 5: A senior British official said on Wednesday a trial for Saddam Hussein, which is due to start later this month, may be postponed until after elections in December.

Any delay to the Oct 19 start date would not be for political reasons but practical ones, the official said.

For example bullet-proof screens and witness protection programmes had to be provided.

“I think there are some logistical problems. There are a lot of things they haven’t got round to yet,” the official told reporters in London.

The British official also warned of a rise in violence before a planned referendum on the new Iraqi constitution on Oct 15 and also ahead of the December polls.—AFP