UN need not join in hunt for weapons, says Hoon

The United Nations would not necessarily be involved in the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, said yesterday.

Mr Hoon said another country could be involved in "independent verification" of whether Saddam Hussein's regime possessed biological and chemical weapons.

His remarks are likely to cause alarm in UN circles following comments by Hans Blix, the chief weapons inspector. He made it clear that he wants to resume his work in Iraq. France and Russia have also called for UN inspections to resume.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme from Qatar, Mr Hoon said a country outside the coalition could help verify the hunt for weapons by American troops. "We have always said it would be advantageous, after troops have gone in, as they begin the process of uncovering weapons of mass destruction, that there needs to be an independent verification," he said. "I am certainly saying that could be through the United Nations. I am equally saying it could be through some other objective source of information."

Asked about his comments later in the day, Mr Hoon said that "he did not necessarily believe it has to be the UN that provides independent verification, but clearly the UN would be one of the organisations that would do so".

His remarks caused alarm at Westminster among MPs who have been calling for the UN to be allowed to resume its inspections. Charles Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat leader, said: "It is in everyone's interest to let the UN weapons inspectors back into Iraq. Unmovic [the UN inspectors] still have a mandate to do their work. Hans Blix has the expertise and the credibility to independently assess the situation on the ground in the hunt for weapons of mass destruction."