Parliament's watchdog public accounts committee will receive a special report from Auditor-General Shauket Fakie on claims that the final arms deal report was edited before it decides on how to proceed with an investigation into the matter.

Francois Beukman chairman of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) said yesterday that Fakie would table the report in parliament within the next 10 days.

"We will get the special report and evaluate it and them determine how to proceed," he said.

Scopa members would also examine the final report and the draft reports on the arms deal investigations to determine whether the final report had been edited and whether parliament had been "misled", Beukman said.

Scopa should not start its inquiry by assuming it was misled but it "must start its inquiry to find out if it has been misled", Beukman said.

It has been alleged that draft reports of the Joint Investigative Team (JIT) which consisted of the AG, the Public Protector and the National Directorate of Public Prosecutions had been heavily "doctored" before the final report was submitted to parliament in November 2001.

Fakie has strongly rejected any implications of a cover-up, saying there were good reasons for omitting some items in the final report.

The AG said that reports on defence and security matters could be limited in terms of the Auditor-General Act after consultations with the responsible minister, the president and the minister of finance.

The report was limited in terms of legislation governing national interest, he said.

But the Democratic Alliance has rejected Fakie's reliance on what they term "unconstitutional" apartheid-era legislation.

Vincent Smith, the ANC leader on Scopa, said yesterday that in terms of the constitution Scopa had an obligation to exercise oversight over the executive.

While he had no dispute with this Scopa and MPs had to be careful about "casting aspersions on the integrity of the AG."

With acknowledgements to Andre Koopman and the Cape Times.