We were being sold Apocalypse Now. Saddam Hussein had a secret chemical and biological weapons programme. He was within months of testing a nuclear device. The threat was clear, present and imminent.
Iraq’s dictator, we were told, was intent on using his weapons of mass destruction. His forces were able to deploy them “within 45 minutes of an order to do so” using “an extensive range of artillery shells, free-fall bombs, sprayers and ballistic missiles”. British lives were at stake with military bases in Cyprus within range.
