THE Evening Press can today reveal that an attempt was made to trick a North Yorkshire exporter into shipping to Iraq hi-tech equipment for treating victims of weapons of mass destruction.

The exporter, Roland Hudson, managing director of Interpower International Ltd, of Kirkbymoorside, believes that last August's attempt to get him to send 200 chemical decontamination showers to another Middle East country - from where they were to be transferred to Iraq - is compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein did have weapons of mass destruction.

A faxed inquiry to Interpower from a trading agent in a "neutral Middle East country" asked for a quote for 200 Karcher units, a German high-pressure washer used for decontamination. Mr Hudson found a British equivalent and costed the order at more than £400,000.

Only later was he told by the trading agent that the equipment was destined for Iraq - but the inquiry had petered out when the customer did not pursue it.

Mr Hudson said: "As far as I was concerned the request was coming from a neutral state. When I spoke to the agent face to face on a visit to the Middle East, he told me that the showers had indeed been destined for Iraq.

"I was surprised. Had I realised where these showers were going we would not have quoted a price. It would have been against Government regulations.

"I am convinced that this was compelling evidence that Saddam had chemical weapons and was prepared to use them. Why otherwise would he want decontamination showers?

"Although Saddam was a nasty piece of work, he wasn't stupid. It was fairly obvious that the UK and the US weren't going to wage chemical warfare, so why order this equipment?

"The answer is clearly that he was prepared to use chemical weapons against our forces on his soil and the showers were needed for self-protection of his troops."

The Evening Press contacted Rainer Muhleisen, product manager of Karcher, who was surprised by the attempt to buy its showers for use in Iraq.

He said that the only purpose for which the stainless steel shower units would be acquired was to decontaminate victims of nuclear, biological or chemical (NBC) weapons. They were for civil defence use and "disaster control".

His own brochure confirms that the complete system, developed and tested to NATO standards, "guarantee the necessary safety in the framework of radioactive decontamination, disinfection and detoxification after an attack with NBC weapons".

The system includes a pressurising tent, shower unit and use of Karcher RM21, a highly-active decontamination agent, which had been tested with positive results for its effect on the skin and eyes by the Huntingdon Research Centre

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in Britain. From his office in Winnenden, Germany, Herr Muhleisen said: "It would have been impossible for us to export our equipment to Iraq. The German authorities are very strict. Anything to do with decontamination has to have an export licence and an end user's certification. But, of course, there is nothing we can do about other countries selling on our products."

Professor Paul Rogers, an international expert on Persian Gulf security based in the Peace Studies department of Bradford University, said today that Mr Hudson's view that the request for specialised showers meant there were weapons of mass destruction was "a reasonable assumption".

He said: "There is separate evidence that the Iraqis were looking for Atropine injectors - which inject a chemical directly into the body to counter the effect of nerve agents - and this revelation about decontamination showers fits in with this clear intention to ensure that their troops could operate in a chemical warfare environment."

Mr Hudson, whose business exports mainly generators, was unwilling to name the neutral country. "We sell generators all over the world, supplying everyone from telecoms to legal military camps. I don't want my sources to dry up," he said.

The Evening Press has passed information about the attempt to buy the shower units to the British Government.

A spokesman for 10 Downing Street said: "Our position with regard to weapons of mass destruction in Iraq is well known. If there is any evidence then it should be submitted. We would want to see any documentation before giving instant responses."

Updated: 11:08 Friday, May 16, 2003