Kelly “taken aback” by Gilligan’s questioning
A colleague of Dr David Kelly has told the Hutton Inquiry that the MoD weapons expert had been shocked by the way in which BBC reporter Andrew Gilligan attempted to prise information from him.
Olivia Bosch – a fellow UN weapons inspector and friend of the late Dr Kelly – explained that the scientist had been “taken aback” by the Today defence correspondent’s probing questions.
Ms Bosch declared, “He was taken aback by the way Andrew Gilligan tried to elicit information from him.”
She claimed that Gilligan had attempted to play a “name game” to encourage Dr Kelly to identify who he believed was responsible for “sexing up” the September 2002 dossier on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction.
The reporter named Alastair Campbell – Ms Bosch told the court that Dr Kelly had told her that he had insisted at this point that, as a civil servant he could not comment and said simply “maybe”.
The claim contradicts Gilligan’s claim in his May 29 report that his source – then anonymous but now confirmed as Dr Kelly – had said that the person responsible for the sexing up could be identified in “one word: Campbell”.
Ms Bosch also confirmed that Dr Kelly’s pay and pension had been brought up in a reprimand by his MoD bosses, once he had been identified as the source.
Today is the final day of the first stage of the Hutton Inquiry.
Due to give evidence later today are Tom Mangold, a journalist and friend of Dr Kelly, neighbour Leigh Potter and MoD special adviser Richard Taylor.
The Inquiry reconvenes on September 15.
