Top British intelligence official in hospital after collapse

Jul 4, 2008, 8:06 GMT

London - A top civil servant in charge of overseeing the work of Britain's intelligence services is seriously ill in hospital after collapsing at his home, Scotland Yard confirmed Friday.

Alex Allan, 57, the chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, also often referred to as 'Britain's top spy,' collapsed at his home earlier this week and has not regained consciousness.

Government sources have said there is no sign of foul play. Allan's wife died from cancer last November.

'We were made aware of a man in his late 50s who was taken to a London hospital after being taken ill at his home address. He remains in a serious condition. This is being treated as non-suspicious,' a Scotland Yard spokesman said.

The Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) is responsible for briefing ministers and officials with intelligence assessments on issues such as security, defence and foreign affairs.

Allan was a civil servant who worked mainly in the Treasury department, before becoming principal private secretary to previous prime ministers John Major and Tony Blair.

He was appointed chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee and Head of Intelligence Assessment late last year.

The JIC was widely blamed for supplying the government of Tony Blair with 'sexed up' documentation alleging that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction in the run-up to the 2003 invasion.

The controversy climaxed in the suicide of David Kelly, an official at the centre of allegations that the government had deliberately hyped the information on Saddam Hussein's arsenal of weapons.