"We made very clear that we didn't believe there were any quantities... of chemical and biological weapons," Ekeus, who was head of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) from 1991 to 1997, told BBC radio.

"Our concern was what kind of production capability Iraq was trying to preserve and to clear up a couple of unsolved problems which were limited," he added, referring to his inspection mission.

The Swedish diplomat said remarks by former chief US weapons hunter David Kay that his Iraq Survey Group found no evidence of banned stockpiles in Iraq, and that they probably did not exist on the eve of the war were a "golden opportunity" to seek out the truth on the matter.

He said former Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein was likely to develop the programme capability as far as weapons of mass destruction and as such was a "clear and present danger".

His comments came amid controversy over Kay's comments on Wednesday to the US Senate Armed Services Committee that a six-month search had found no evidence that Iraq had banned weapons before the US invasion in March.

WAR.WIRE