Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, predicted that the dossier would help to convince people of not just Osama bin Laden's guilt but also that of his al Qaeda organisation.
The dossier relies heavily on circumstantial evidence about the previous atrocities carried out by bin Laden and al Qaeda.
Similarities are drawn in the dossier between the planning, use of suicide bombers and the nature of the previous attacks and those on September 11.
But Tony Blair's official spokesman insisted that the report included important evidence, citing the claim that the detailed planning for the attacks was carried out by one of bin Laden's close associates.
Asked if the evidence was mainly circumstantial, a Downing St spokesman replied:
"It would have been perfectly possible to have released absolutely nothing and for us to have made the case as we have done against bin Laden and al Qaeda. This is an exceptional situation, therefore it is exceptional that we are publishing this document.
"We are being as open as we can while taking every measure we can to protect intelligence sources and gathering."
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