Saadi said he had no information on the whereabouts of Saddam and he also denied that Iraq had chemical or biological weapons.

He said he had decided to surrender because he felt "in no way guilty".

The station said in a statement that Saadi "wished to be accompanied by a ZDF team" when he gave himself up.

Before the war he had often dealt with the UN weapons inspectors and was wanted by US forces, however he does not figure on a list of 52 most wanted Iraqis released by the US Defense Department on Friday.

SPACE.WIRE