A series of declassified memos have revealed details of interviews - described by investigators as “chilling” - from the inquiry into alleged support of the 9/11 terrorist attacks by Saudi Arabian officials.

According to a former Commission staff member, the newly released material largely duplicates a top-secret report known as the '28 pages', which reportedly includes sensitive findings relating to allged Saudi involvement in 9/11.

Fahad al-Thumairy, a 32-year-old Imam and former Saudi diplomat deported from the US in 2003 because of suspected terrorist links, was questioned in Saudi Arabia by members of the 9/11 Commission in February 2004.

A member of Commission staff later said “it was so clear Thumairy was lying,” according to The Guardian. “It was also so clear he was dangerous.” It is also reported that the investigators described the scene as "chilling".

When confronted with evidence of numerous phone calls between himself and Omar al-Bayoumi, a Saudi national who allegedly befriended two of the 9/11 hijackers, al-Thumairy denied any knowledge of Mr al-Bayoumi.

The document states that when Mr al-Thumairy was presented with more confrontational questions during the interrogation, “his posture changed noticeably”.

Saudi Minister discusses 9/11 rumors

Mr al-Thumairy is said to have crossed his arms, sat back in his chair and relied more heavily on the interpreter when questioned about his connections to two Saudi hijackers who had lived in southern California before 9/11.

The interviews were conducted between 2002 to 2004 by the 9/11 Commission, set up to investigate the circumstances of the attacks. They have now been published by the National Archives.

According to notes from an interview, members of the Islamic Council of the Saudi government said: “Funds were probably misused. Saudis have an obligation to give to charity. People don’t ask questions about where the money goes.”

“We used our money. But we did not want our money to be used to attack the USA, or to be turned against us.”

An interview with Mr al-Bayoumi is also listed within the memos, in which he “agreed that he had some telephone contact with al-Thumairy, which involved discussion of [al-Bayoumi’s] questions on religious matters”.

The document states that Mr al-Bayoumi “considered al-Thumairy his religious advisor”, but denied that he was ever his teacher, and “expressed surprise that he might have held a position at the Consulate”.

Both Mr al-Thumairy and Mr al-Bayoumi deny any links to terrorists.

On Thursday, a former member of the Commission, John F Lehman, claimed that Saudi government officials had supported the hijackers.

Mr Lehman said there was an “awful lot of circumstantial evidence” that several employees in the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs had a hand in the terrorist plot.

But he said that the secret report produced by the FBI, known as the '28 pages', includes no “smoking gun” relating to sensitive findings relating to Saudi Arabia’s alleged involvement in 9/11.

Barack Obama has said he is nearing a decision about whether to declassify the ‘28 pages’, which could have severe and widespread diplomatic repercussions.

As many as six Saudi officials could have supported the 9/11 hijackers, according to statements made by Mr Lehman.

Those individuals worked for the Saudi Embassy in the U.S., Saudi charities and the Saudi government-funded King Fahd Mosque in California, he said.

10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Show all 10 1 /10 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In October 2014, three lawyers, Dr Abdulrahman al-Subaihi, Bander al-Nogaithan and Abdulrahman al-Rumaih , were sentenced to up to eight years in prison for using Twitter to criticize the Ministry of Justice. AFP/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2015, Yemen’s Sunni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was forced into exile after a Shia-led insurgency. A Saudi Arabia-led coalition has responded with air strikes in order to reinstate Mr Hadi. It has since been accused of committing war crimes in the country. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Women who supported the Women2Drive campaign, launched in 2011 to challenge the ban on women driving vehicles, faced harassment and intimidation by the authorities. The government warned that women drivers would face arrest. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Members of the Kingdom’s Shia minority, most of whom live in the oil-rich Eastern Province, continue to face discrimination that limits their access to government services and employment. Activists have received death sentences or long prison terms for their alleged participation in protests in 2011 and 2012. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses All public gatherings are prohibited under an order issued by the Interior Ministry in 2011. Those defy the ban face arrest, prosecution and imprisonment on charges such as “inciting people against the authorities”. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2014, the Interior Ministry stated that authorities had deported over 370,000 foreign migrants and that 18,000 others were in detention. Thousands of workers were returned to Somalia and other states where they were at risk of human rights abuses, with large numbers also returned to Yemen, in order to open more jobs to Saudi Arabians. Many migrants reported that prior to their deportation they had been packed into overcrowded makeshift detention facilities where they received little food and water and were abused by guards. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses The Saudi Arabian authorities continue to deny access to independent human rights organisations like Amnesty International, and they have been known to take punitive action, including through the courts, against activists and family members of victims who contact Amnesty. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Raif Badawi was sentenced to 1000 lashes and 10 years in prison for using his liberal blog to criticise Saudi Arabia’s clerics. He has already received 50 lashes, which have reportedly left him in poor health. Carsten Koall/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Dawood al-Marhoon was arrested aged 17 for participating in an anti-government protest. After refusing to spy on his fellow protestors, he was tortured and forced to sign a blank document that would later contain his ‘confession’. At Dawood’s trial, the prosecution requested death by crucifixion while refusing him a lawyer. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was arrested in 2012 aged either 16 or 17 for participating in protests during the Arab spring. His sentence includes beheading and crucifixion. The international community has spoken out against the punishment and has called on Saudi Arabia to stop. He is the nephew of a prominent government dissident. Getty

However, the Commission’s report concluded that “no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually funded” al Qaeda.

Mr Lehan said: “Our report should never have been read as an exoneration of Saudi Arabia.”

The Saudi government has said it was ”wrongfully and morbidly accused of complicity“ in the attacks and outlined its work fighting extremists and clamping down on their funding streams.