LONDON, July 9 (Xinhuanet) -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair is facing a fresh setback as local media report that an inquiry will conclude the claim that Saddam Hussein could deploy weapons of mass destruction (WMD) within 45 minutes was "vague and poorly founded."

    The 45-minute claim, used by Blair to justify war on Iraq, was made four times in the British government's dossier on Iraq's WMD issued in September 2002, including in Blair's foreword.

    Since no such banned weapons have been found in Iraq, the 45-minute claim has been discredited. Even Blair himself has admittedthose weapons may never be discovered.

    On Friday, the Evening Standard newspaper said Lord Butler's report on prewar intelligence, to be published on July 14, will conclude the claim "should never have been published because it was poorly sourced and vague."

    According to the newspaper, which did not reveal the source of its report, Lord Butler will also say Foreign Secretary Jack Strawoverruled legal advice that the Iraq war would be unlawful withouta second UN resolution.

    A BBC report quoted a member of the inquiry team as saying Friday that the Butler's report will highlight the "limitations" of intelligence.

    Earlier this week, the Financial Times, citing people familiar with the contents of the report, said that the report is expected to conclude that the intelligence to substantiate the claim was ofinsufficient qualify and intelligence gathered on Iraq was inadequate.

    It was also understood that the report criticizes the credibility of the source of the 45-minute claim and the process by which the information was assessed, the Financial Times newspaper added.

    However, Commons leader Peter Hain warned against reading too much into media speculation ahead of the report's publication. Downing Street has refused to comment ahead of the report's publication.

    Lord Butler's criticism is also expected to get repercussions from both MI6, which gathered the intelligence, and the joint intelligence committee, which assessed its inclusion in the government dossier, according to the local media. Enditem