PM’s spokesman denies Dr Kelly ‘pawn’ accusation
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman Tom Kelly, who described Ministry of Defence scientist Dr David Kelly as a “Walter Mitty” figure, has appeared before the Hutton Inquiry.
Mr Kelly faced a grilling over his brief to journalists on the day Dr Kelly’s identity was revealed. He denied that he had attempted to drop hints to lead journalists to the scientist’s identity and refuted the suggestion that Dr Kelly had been used as a “pawn”.
Dr Kelly apparently committed suicide after being named as the source for a BBC report in which defence correspondent Andrew Gilligan alleged that the Government had ‘sexed up’ the September dossier on Iraqi banned weapons to provide a stronger case for war.
Appearing before the inquiry for the second time, Mr Kelly claimed that he and his colleague Godric Smith has advised Downing Street press chief Alastair Campbell that it “was not a good idea” to brief the press that an individual had come forward as a possible source for Mr Gilligan’s report.
Mr Kelly said “I think it was better that we let events take their course and I thought it was premature.
“I also thought that whenever we did reveal the knowledge, we should do it in the right way rather than pre-empt it.”
Mr Kelly insisted that he had not attempted to give information or ‘drop clues’ about Dr Kelly’s identity, but he added, “I genuinely wanted to protect Dr Kelly’s identity but I had to explain the discrepancies between the BBC statement and the MoD statement, and I had to do that without misleading the lobby, which is the golden rule.”
In response to a suggestion that Dr Kelly “was some kind of pawn in a game that you were playing with the press” Tom Kelly said “absolutely not”. He added that, despite the pressure they were under, he did not believe the Government had lost sight that there was an individual caught up in this controversy, and they had to respect that individual.
Asked about his disparaging comparison of the Iraq arms expert with the delusional fictional character Walter Mitty, Mr Kelly admitted, “”I have accepted that my remark was wrong, it was a mistake, it was a too colourful phrase to use.”
However, asked if it had been part of a Government strategy to “belittle” the scientist, Mr Kelly replied, “I was not aware of, or part of, any strategy to demean or belittle Dr Kelly.”
Later, Godric Smith, Mr Blair’s other official spokesman, is expected to be asked about a conversation he heard between Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon and Mr Campbell.
Also due to return to the Royal Courts of Justice is head of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) John Scarlett. Assistant Chief Constable Michael Page of Thames Valley Police also returns for a second time, followed by BBC chairman Gavyn Davies.
