London - Allegations that UN arms inspectors in Iraq were spying for the United States were justified and could jeopardise future disarmament efforts, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said yesterday.
"I think there was a measure of justification in those allegations and Washington never denied it," Annan said in an interview with BBC television. The top UN official said that the work of the UN Special Commission on Iraqi disarmament (UNSCOM) had been undermined by the allegations that could also damage future efforts to dismantle weapons of mass destruction.