Terry Waite, the former Middle East hostage negotiator, has likened the Government’s handling of consultation over Iraq as "similar to a dictatorship."
Waite, who spent nearly five years himself as a hostage in Lebanon in the Eighties, voiced his disgust over the time taken to recall Parliament and issue the 50-page dossier on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction’ to the public.
"How long has it taken us to get any information and how responsible is it to go so far down the line in consultation with America without letting Parliament have a debate?" queried Waite, speaking shortly after the release of the document.