In a written statement to the House of Commons Straw said more means would be provided and procedures would be reviewed and tightened up at the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), which provides the government with information gathered by its various intelligence services.

The changes follow guidelines in the Butler report, which last July criticised both the work of the JIC and Prime Minister Tony Blair's manner of governance.

The JIC, currently composed of 28 staff, will be increased in size by a third so as to better analyse intelligence while government ministers will be given a standardised guide on how to interpret and better judge the intelligence provided.

The Butler report said a final version of a government report on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, made public in September 2002, had been weak and lacking in reservations and doubts initially included by intelligence gatherers.

Lord Butler also criticised Tony Blair's habit of holding informal meetings with his inner circle of advisors before and during the war where no formal reports were written, which would not be the case at a classic cabinet meeting.

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