It has been revealed in London that one of Prime Minister Tony Blair’s closest advisors warned Blair top advisors that it would be wrong to present Saddam Hussein as an imminent threat to other countries.

Downing Street Chief of Staff Jonathan Powell issued the warning on Sept. 17, before Blair released his controversial Iraq dossier which, among other things, claimed Iraq could launch a biological or chemical attack within 45 minutes.

Jonathan Powell’s warning of a week earlier was ignored. He had written in an email: “We will need to make it clear in launching the document that we do not claim that we have evidence that he is an imminent threat.”

His email was sent to some of Blair’s closest advisors including Alastair Campbell, Blair’s director of communications, and David Manning, Blair’s foreign policy advisor.